Before signing up to do Iron Man, director Jon Favreau’s next project was supposed to be an adaptation of the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi books “John Carter of Mars”. With Favs committed to iron underwear, it died on the vine Eventually Paramount decided not to renew their rights to the project, and it’s just been sitting there waiting for someone to snatch it up.

Now TMZ says Disney may be that someone. They say the Burroughs estate is negotiating with Disney to turn the series of books not just into a single film, but into an entire franchise of films. Disney is looking for more family friendly epics to turn into major movies, and this could be it for them.

While you could turn Jon Carter into another Narnia if you wanted to, I really think the books lend themselves to something a little harder, something more along the lines of Lord of the Rings. You don’t even have to read them to know that. Just look at the cover art on some of the older paperback copies of the books. I’ve posted one of the most common pieces of cover art to your right. It’s all half-naked women and violence. A hard PG-13 is more in keeping with what Burroughs was going for than another Harry Potter.

Still, it’s nice to see someone trying to make it happen again. The books are nearly 100 years old, and while many have tried to make them into a movie before, all attempts have ended in failure. Favreau’s is just the latest. Will Disney finally make it happen?