To Stanton’s mind, this kind of “Clark Kent” simplicity regarding John Carter was the biggest challenge facing himself (and co-writers Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon) when penning the film. Though Stanton claims the overall story is more complex, with the warring factions and the lack of resources and whatnot, the John Carter character, at his core, is pretty simple and straightforward. There isn’t much character development in the novel at all. So the challenge was to get this cut-and-dry story of “rescue heroism”, about a guy who has a “noble quality related to justice being served, and getting involved,” into a story with relationships and characters that an audience could relate to.
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