Tanglewood Games Studio, which includes developers from Epic Games and Rare, is working on a new first-person shooter, John Carter: Warlord of Mars. The team is planning to begin a crowdfunding campaign via Kickstarter on April 19 and has found a publisher in FNCPR.
John Carter: Warlord of Mars is an upcoming FPS based on the sci-fi novels of The Martian Series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The story follows a soldier, John Carter, who finds himself on Mars. The hero becomes acquainted with the planet's inhabitants and aids them in battle against giant ape-like monsters.
Unlike the original books, John Carter in the game will not be a veteran of the American Civil War but an American soldier on the Western Front during WWII instead. Carter will find himself transported from Berlin to Mars after stumbling upon secret Nazi technology.
The Tanglewood team includes former employees from Epic Games and Rare, who have worked on Fortnite, Paragon, and Sea of Thieves. The studio is headed by programmer Chris Wood, who worked on the Unreal Engine at Epic. Tanglewood has already indicated that John Carter: Warlord of Mars is made in Unreal Engine as well
The first John Carter book, The Princess of Mars, was published in 1912. Since then, about a dozen direct sequels followed, and The Martian Series has inspired other fiction writers, such as Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke. John Carter previously had been adapted as comic books and a tabletop role-playing game. One of the most famous adaptations is the 2012 film John Carter with Taylor Kitsch, one of Disney Studios’ biggest box office failures.
John Carter: Warlord of Mars is “well underway,” however, there is no approximate release date at the moment. The game is planned for both PC and console releases.