Andrew Stanton may not be a name people think of when it comes to live action, as his biggest previous credit was helming WALL-E for Pixar. But he’s trying his hand at the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs character with Walt Disney Pictures’ JOHN CARTER, and so far the look and feel of it is rather intriguing. Check out the new trailer below (courtesy of IGN). The film stars FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS actor Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, and Willem Dafoe. There’s definitely no shortage of computer effects at work here, especially in the scenes where you can tell Kitsch is the ONLY live action element – and tell me that arena scene isn’t right out of ATTACK OF THE CLONES. But as I said, it looks interesting, so we’ll see where it goes. I’m not sure why they dumbed down the name and didn’t go with the classic book title JOHN CARTER OF MARS, which to me would be much more of a fascinating film title than just JOHN CARTER. I’m more intrigued by how serious and somewhat dark this looks, and yet maintains that “Disney” right above the name. Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
From Academy Award®–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.
Disney’s JOHN CARTER opens opens March 9, 2012