It's safe to say that Disney's sci-fi epic, John Carter, has been a box office disappointment thus far. But given that the movie has been out less than a week and that a rabid fan base is lending its support, there may yet be hope for the survival of the franchise. Recently we were contacted by the folks who cut this awesome fan-made trailer and run this John Carter fan site to let us know about the rapidly-expanding fan base behind the film. Started by fans, the Facebook group "Take Me Back to Barsoom! I want a sequel!" is recruiting followers in an attempt to make enough noise to encourage Disney to greenlight a sequel.While I personally wouldn't mind a return voyage to Mars, the thing that's going to make the biggest splash and get the studio's attention is plain and simple dollar bills. Social media goes a long way these days to resurrect things like NBC's Community, but the roughly $250 million budget on the first John Carter is going to demand more than a Facebook page. I encourage fans of the source material to check out both of the above sites and by all means go see the film a second (or more) time to lend your support. In the mean time, you can get caught up on all of our previous coverage of John Carter here. Hit the jump to check out another awesome fan-made trailer (and if Disney is listening, please consider hiring these guys for your marketing team next time around...seriously). Here's the official synopsis from John Carter followed by the unofficial trailer titled, "Heritage."

From Academy Award(R)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter”–a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.