Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights, Wolverine) and Lynn Collins have signed on for Disney/Pixar’s big budget live-action sci-fi film “John Carter of Mars”, which will be directed by Andrew Stanton (’Wall-E’). Thomas Haden Church (’Spiderman 3′) also signaled in a recent interview that he was close to signing on. Full details after the jump.
Rising star Taylor Kitsch, who found fame with under-appreciated West Texas Football Drama “Friday Night Lights” and “Wolverine” Origins”, has signed on with Disney to star as the lead in a big budget adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs book series “John Carter of Mars”.
Kitsch will play Civil War vet John Carter, who is transported to Mars where he discovers a lush, wildly diverse planet whose main inhabitants are ‘12-foot tall green barbarians’. 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.
Taylor’s “Wolverine: Origins” cast mate Lynn Collins (”True Blood”) has been cast as the Princess character, Dejah Thoris.
Speaking to ReelTalk recently, Thomas Haden Church (who may be memorable to most as ‘Sandman’ in “Spiderman 3″) remarks that he is “probably going to do a huge science fiction drama at Disney called John Carter of Mars” and that that role is “very dramatic“. Judging by his remarks and based on the available characters, it’s a safe guess to say that he would be playing ‘Tars Tarkas’, an alien warrior that after a number of ups and downs, becomes John Carter’s sidekick.
The rights of the film were originally in the hands of Paramount Pictures who failed to go into production on two separate occasions, once with Robert Rodriguez (”Sin City”) on board and then with Jon Favreau (”Iron Man”). Disney picked up the rights again in late 2006/early 2007 and immediately installed “Wall-E” director Andrew Stanton as a director. Stanton will co-write the screenplay with Michael Chabon.
This is a huge break for Taylor Kitsch, and will certainly install him as a top A-list talent in Hollywood if the film is a success, with an ongoing franchise as a possibility - and with a rumored $200 million budget - everyone involved will be hoping for that to happen.
Taylor is likely to be seen next in Season Four of Direc TV/NBC’s “Friday Night Lights”, due to air later this year or early 2010.
