John Carter returns to Barsoom (Mars) after spending about ten years on Earth. During his absence, his wife Dejah Thoris has given birth to their son, Carthoris, and trouble has quietly simmered among the ruling Therns and other factions. The Therns—religious elites who masquerade as demi-gods—remain a source of danger and manipulation, pulling strings behind scenes. Carter’s return is triggered when Dejah Thoris and Carthoris are kidnapped by Matai Shang, the scheming Holy Hekkador of the Therns, who uses his shape-shifting agents to create discord among the various Martian factions.
Dejah, Carthoris, and allied princesses are imprisoned in the Temple of the Sun, a prison caught on a rotating mechanism so that only some cells align with daylight annually. Matai Shang’s plan is more than just cruelty—he aims to destabilize Helium and the other major cities by pretending that the gods (or their representatives) demand certain rites or sacrifices, using fear to control people. Carter rallies his old allies—as well as Green, Red, and First Born (or “Firstborn”) Martians—to investigate the Therns’ conspiracy.
Conflict escalates as shapeshifting spies, loyal to the Therns, infiltrate key Martian leaders, sowing mistrust, chaos, and civil strife. Dejah invents a device meant to detect the Thern impostors. However, en route to deploying it, the device is sabotaged, and Carter (or a body double) is believed killed in a cunning plot, only for the audience to realize it’s a duplicate. Meanwhile, his original body is preserved somewhere in torpor on Earth or elsewhere.
Carter must go on a journey through hostile terrains—ice barriers of Mars’ polar caps, tunnels of forgotten races like the Yellow Martians, to the palace city of Salensus Oll or Kaol—uniting warring factions. Battles with monsters, aerial fleets, sword fights, and rescuing his son and Dejah from Matai Shang’s grasp lead to epic confrontation. All Martian races—Red, Green, Firstborn—must set aside old enmities under Carter’s leadership in order to defeat the Therns and bring peace.
In the climax, Carter faces Matai Shang, who reveals deeper secrets about the false godhood the Therns have adopted. In a final showdown likely set atop a volcanic fortress or over Mars’ twin moons, Carter’s son plays a critical role—either as a manipulated warrior or as a redeemer who turns against the Thern plot. Matai Shang is defeated; peace is restored in Barsoom, and Carter earns the title “Warlord of Mars,” recognized by the combined races as a leader who transcends divisions.
Ultimately, John Carter 2: Warlord of Mars would have explored themes of identity, leadership, betrayal, loyalty, and the cost of power. It would delve into political intrigue, moral compromise, and reconcile Carter’s dual identity (Earthman and Warlord) with the legacy he must build on Mars. Though it never came to be, the outline Stanton pitched showed the potential for a sweeping, emotionally resonant epic that might have completed a trilogy.
