Thomas Haden Church Also Joining John Carter Of Mars?
Suddenly theJohn Carter of Marsnews is flowing like crazy.Thomas Haden Churchsaid onReel Talkwith Jeffrey Lyons that he’d be joining the film, in what he calls a ‘very dramatic role’. He’ll work alongsideTaylor Kitsch(as John Carter) andLynn Collins(as Dejah Thoris, heir to the Martian kingdom).Andrew Stantonwill make his live-action directing debut with the film, which is written by Stanton andMark Andrews, with additional recent work byMichael Chabon.
The actor said specifically that he was “probably going to do ahugescience fiction drama at Disney calledJohn Carter of Mars.” We’ve wondered exactly where on the Disney/Pixar line this project would fall, as it hasn’t been anywhere on Pixar’s announced slate. Increasingly, as reports of impending work in Utah have come out, it seems that this is primarily a Disney picture, even if it has Pixar talent. (Stanton and Andrews and, since we still understand that it will feature animation, possibly some other Pixar staff?) Work is set to begin in Utah in November, and Haden Church said that he’d be working on the film in the spring, so that gives some idea of the production timeline.
Based on the novelA Princess of Marsby Edgar Rice Burroughs, this should indeed be a huge film. Collins isn’t the most inspiring cast, but Thomas Haden Church is reliably fantastic, and blessed with the sort of old-school character actor face that seems to exist in far fewer numbers these days. And hell, I liked Kitsch in Wolverine and will be interested to see if he’s got the quality necessary to carry a big sci-fi opera like this one.
The movie will follow Civil War vet John Carter, who is transplanted 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.
[viaComingSoon]
