Has Disney Abandoned Plans to Reboot One of Its Biggest Flops?

Disney’s reboot obsession knows no bounds, but some projects just refuse to take off.

Ever since reports surfaced that the studio was developing a streaming reboot of John Carter, things have been eerily quiet. No major updates, no casting news, no buzz. While Disney is known for aggressively pushing forward with its reimaginings, this particular revival seems to have stalled before it even left the launchpad, leaving us wondering if the project’s been axed for good.

The Never-Ending Reboot Cycle

It’s no secret that Disney has leaned hard into remakes and reboots in recent years. Whether it’s reviving animated classics as live-action spectacles or revisiting past blockbusters, the studio is determined to mine its own history for content.

In recent years, we’ve seen The Little Mermaid (2023) and Snow White (2025) hit the big screen, with the latter proving particularly divisive among audiences as some supposed Disney purists chose to jump on the “Anti Rachel Zegler” train.

Meanwhile, back in 2023, Peter Pan & Wendy landed on Disney+ with more of a whimper than a bang. Mufasa: The Lion King (2024) may have impressed at the box office, but it didn’t do the best job of impressing critics.

Not one to be easily deterred, Disney is still pushing ahead with several more remakes, including this summer’s Lilo & Stitch (2025) and upcoming remakes of Moana (2016) – in which Dwayne Johnson will reprise his role as Maui – and Tangled (2010).

Yet, while these projects have all made their way through the pipeline with at least some level of momentum, John Carter has seemingly disappeared into development limbo. Initially reported by Giant Freakin Robot as a new Disney+ series, the potential reboot has seen no further movement since its initial reveal.

That’s a stark contrast to Disney’s usual approach of fast-tracking projects with even the slightest promise of success. So, what’s happening here?

A $300 Million Misfire

Unlike Disney’s other remakes, which capitalize on nostalgic love for beloved classics, John Carter is in a very different category.

The 2012 film—based on Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom series—followed a Confederate veteran (played by Taylor Kitsch) who is mysteriously transported to Mars, or Barsoom, where he becomes entangled in an interplanetary conflict. With enhanced strength and agility due to the planet’s lower gravity, he finds himself at the center of a war between warring factions and a princess in need of saving.

What was supposed to be the start of a massive franchise instead became one of the most infamous box office disasters in history. With a reported budget of $306.6 million and a worldwide box office haul of just $284.1 million, it cemented itself as one of Hollywood’s (and Disney’s) costliest flops.

Much of the blame fell on Disney’s botched marketing strategy. The film’s original title, John Carter of Mars, was stripped down to just John Carter, a decision that confused audiences who had no idea what the film was actually about. The trailers didn’t help, either—vague and uninspired, they failed to communicate the film’s ambitious sci-fi scope. By the time the movie hit theaters, most people simply didn’t care.

Directed by Andrew Stanton, best known for Pixar classics like Finding Nemo (2003), John Carter had the pedigree to be something special. But between the studio’s marketing missteps and a general lack of audience interest, any hopes of a sequel were quickly buried.

That makes the idea of a reboot a particularly curious choice. Unlike The Little Mermaid (1989) or The Lion King (1994), there isn’t a strong built-in fanbase demanding John Carter’s return.

The John Carter Dilemma

If Disney was truly serious about bringing John Carter back, why haven’t there been any significant updates?

The latest we heard about the project was in 2024 when Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. created a website that simply reads “John Carter is Coming” over a red planet similar to Mars. While it previously featured a countdown that ended on March 29, 2024, that date has obviously come and gone. The website remains live, but zero updates have dropped on it since.

It’s possible that the project was nothing more than an early-stage idea that never gained traction. In our personal opinion, considering Disney’s current financial strategy, it’s unlikely that John Carter will actually get a second chance.

The studio has already scaled back its spending on riskier projects, focusing instead on established IPs with guaranteed returns. A reboot of a movie that lost hundreds of millions at the box office isn’t exactly a safe bet, especially when Disney is already facing backlash for churning out too many reboots with mixed results.

Even from a creative standpoint, John Carter doesn’t fit neatly into Disney’s current lineup. Unlike its fairy tale adaptations or superhero franchises, this is a sprawling sci-fi epic that would require significant world-building, CGI, and marketing.

After the failure of Lightyear (2022) and the declining interest in Star Wars spinoffs, Disney may not be eager to pour money into another large-scale sci-fi project—especially one without a proven audience demand.

For now, John Carter’s future remains uncertain. While Disney hasn’t officially scrapped the idea, the complete lack of movement suggests that, for all its enthusiasm for reboots, even the studio isn’t convinced this one is worth the effort.

Would you watch a John Carter reboot? Or is this one better left in the past? Let us know your thoughts.