John Carter, followed by Conan and Tarzan.

This is tougher. Not the Phantom, fer sure. Shadow's been tried. Tarzan, Zorro.

Going by your criteria I'd have to say John Carter. Science fiction, untapped potential, unknown to most viewers, Dejah Thoris, radium pistols, Tharks.

With a top notch director like Peter Jackson or whoever, I'd go John Carter, then conan, then Flash Gordon.

Flash Gordon has the '80s movie going against it, sadly. I definitely agree regarding John Carter -- if it was done well, that could be awesome.

I was thinking of that shit 80's movie as well, wondering if it's colored the audiences perception of the franchise. That said, a strong trailer can work wonders-- people didn't see Batman as a giant goofball a la Adam West when Burton's trailer came out.

With it's outer space setting, colorful aliens, and unqiue villains, it has all the elements for a strong franchise.

John Carter.... and be quick about it




I'm still waiting.....

Conan.

All of those options suck and will never be popular.

I don't think they suck but I doubt they will ever be popular again. Tarzan maybe. Zorro was done already in the 90s/early 2000s. Doc Savage and John Carter are well out of the cultural awareness. Might as well create new, similar characters instead of paying someone to license them.

Jeff is wrong in saying that they don't all suck. Those are all the epitome of suck.

Your face sucks.

Why get so personal? Is it because I said you were a loser in the thread about being single or married? If so that was in another thread and you aren't allowed to be mad about it in this one.

I'm not single; mine was the voice of experience telling you of your wrongness.

Single is the way to be!

I guess any of them could be popular again given a successful movie or TV show to re-establish the franchise. It's hard to rate their chances. Any attempt to kick off a media franchise with either a new or an established property is going to be a gamble. Properties like Tarzan and Zorro have been popular in the past. That could help in terms of name recognition, but could also hurt if there's a perception that they're corny and outdated. Then you have characters like John Carter who are so little known outside the world of fandom that they'd be essentially new as far as the general public is concerned.

Pffth. That would require creativity and originality.

With Pixar doing the upcoming movie, John Carter has the best shot. JC is all about the white Earth man being the only one able to unite the Red, Green, Black, Yellow, and White Martians. James Cameron seemed to do well with the concept.

If Tarzan was done correctly, he'd be a lock. In the books, he's Bruce Lee, Sherlock Holmes, Mowgli, James Bond, and Indiana Jones all rolled into one.

And then the Sherlock Holmes part of that man-sandwich roll expands and engulfs all the others, asserting his dominance. Tarzan unzips his sweaty, manly skin like a jumpsuit and underneath is Sherlock Holmes.

I think you can't count Conan out of this race. (Not the poll but the real life question). His story concept has the ability to bring it all, almost to a LOTR style epic as he progresses to King.

Sadly, probably, none of the above.

THe Schwarzeneggar Conan film is still considered a classic; I think that's definitely a lock to be a big hit with the right director and cast.