Start your engine! And just like that the principal photography for JOHN CARTER OF MARS has begun in London. Directed by Andrew Stanton, this is a hybrid (mix of live action and CG) adaptation based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, a Civil War veteran who retreats into a cave to avoid capture by Apache Indians. He takes an otherworldly turn as he’s transported via time portal to the planet of Barsoom and taken prisoner by 12-foot-tall green men. Finding himself a prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who is in desperate need of a savior. Lynn Collins, will play Dejah Thoris, the heir to the throne of Mars’ Helium kingdom. Willem Dafoe is set to play Tars Tarkas, a leader of the Thark race who knows that the only way his people can survive is if they turn away from war, a position that may cost him dearly. Samantha Morton will play Sola, the daughter of Dafoe’s Tars Tarkas, who must hide her softer side from her warmongering race.
Dominic West will play Sab Than, prince of the Zodangans who believes he is entitled to rule Mars.
Polly Walker will play Sarkoja, a merciless, tyrannical Thark.
Thomas Haden Church will play Tal Hajus, an ambitious and vicious Thark warrior who is biding his time to be a ruler.
James Purefoy will play Kantos Kan, the captain of the Xavarian, the kingdom of Helium’s grand warship.
Mark Strong will play Matai Shang, the ruler of the Thems with godlike status.
Bryan Cranston is set to play a Civil War colonel who comes into conflict with Carter.
Andrew Stanton (Wall-E) worked on the script with Mark Andrews with revisions from Michael Chabon.
JOHN CARTER OF MARS is set to open in 2012.
Press release after this jump…
Principal photography is underway in London for Walt Disney Pictures’ “JOHN CARTER OF MARS.” Academy Award(r)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom Series,” the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter, who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants.
Produced for Walt Disney Pictures by Jim Morris (”WALL*E,” “Ratatouille”) and Colin Wilson (”Avatar,” “War of the Worlds”), the live action/animation film marks Academy Award(r)-winning director/writer Andrew Stanton’s (”Finding Nemo,” “WALL*E”) first foray into live action. Stanton directed and co-wrote the screenplay for Disney*Pixar’s “WALL*E,” which earned the Academy Award and Golden Globe(r) for Best Animated Feature (2008); Stanton was nominated for an Oscar(r) for the screenplay. He made his directorial debut with Disney*Pixar’s “Finding Nemo,” garnering an Academy Award-nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature (2003). He has worked as a screenwriter and/or executive producer on Disney*Pixar’s “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life” (which he also co-directed), “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Ratatouille” and “Up.”
“I have been waiting my whole life to see the characters and worlds of ‘John Carter of Mars’ realized on the big screen,” says Stanton. “It is just a wonderful bonus that I have anything to do with it.”
The stellar ensemble cast is led by Taylor Kitsch (NBC’S “Friday Night Lights”, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) in the title role, Lynn Collins (”50 First Dates,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) as the warrior princess Dejah Thoris and Oscar(r) nominee Willem Dafoe (”Spider-Man 3,” “Shadow of a Vampire”) as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas. The cast also includes Thomas Haden Church (”Sideways,” Spider-Man 3), Polly Walker (upcoming “Clash of the Titans,” “Patriot Games”), Samantha Morton (”Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” “In America”), Mark Strong (”Sherlock Holmes,” “Body of Lies”), Ciaran Hinds (”Munich,” “There Will Be Blood”), British actor Dominic West (”300,” “Chicago”), James Purefoy (”Vanity Fair,” “Resident Evil”) and Bryan Cranston (”Breaking Bad”). Daryl Sabara (”Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” “Spy Kids”) takes the role of John Carter’s teenaged nephew, Edgar Rice Burroughs.
The creative team includes Oscar(r)-nominated production designer Nathan Crowley (”Public Enemies,” “The Dark Knight,” “Batman Begins”), costume designer Mayes Rubeo (”Avatar,” “Apocalypto”), cinematographer Daniel Mindel (”Star Trek,” “Mission Impossible III,” “Spygame”) and video effects supervisor Peter Chiang (”The Reader,” “The Bourne Ultimatum”).
JOHN CARTER OF MARS
WALT DISNEY PICTURES
Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Rating: TBD
Release Date: TBD
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, with Thomas Hayden Church and Willem Dafoe
Director: Andrew Stanton
Producers: Jim Morris and Colin Wilson
Screenplay by: Andrew Stanton & Mark Andrews (credit not final)
Based on the story by: Edgar Rice Burroughs
From Academy Award(r)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton (”Finding Nemo,” “WALL-E”), JOHN CARTER OF MARS brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom Series,” the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter (TAYLOR KITSCH), who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (WILLEM DAFOE) and Dejah Thoris (LYNN COLLINS).
Notes:
* Edgar Rice Burroughs was born in Chicago and is best known for writing and creating Tarzan – still one of the most successful and iconic fictional creations of all time. JOHN CARTER OF MARS is based on Burroughs’ first novel, “A Princess of Mars.”
* Academy Award(r)-winning director/writer Andrew Stanton directed and co-wrote the screenplay for “WALL*E,” which earned the Academy Award(r) and Golden Globe Award(r) for Best Animated Feature of 2008. He was Oscar(r) nominated for the screenplay. He made his directorial debut with “Finding Nemo,” garnering an Academy Award(r) nomination for Best Original Screenplay and winning the Oscar(r) for Best Animated Feature Film of 2003. He was one of the four screenwriters to receive an Oscar(r) nomination in 1996 for his contribution to “Toy Story,” and went on to receive credit as a screenwriter on subsequent Pixar films “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo” and “WALL*E.” He served as co-director on “A Bug’s Life,” and was the executive producer of “Monsters, Inc.,” the 2006 Academy Award-winning “Ratatouille” and the 2009 smash hit “Up.”
Set in the wounded planet of Mars, JOHN CARTER OF MARS chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter (TAYLOR KITSCH), who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants, including Tars Tarkas (WILLEM DAFOE) and Dejah Thoris (LYNN COLLINS).
