John Carter of Mars is headed to Earth

Disney has decided to bring to life
the story of John Carter of Mars.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, the man
ow gave us Tarzan, tells the tale
of John Carter, a Civil War veteran
mining for gold in Arizona who
is attacked by Indians. In his run
for freedom he is somehow
transported to the planet Mars or
Barsoom, as the locals call it.

Taylor Kitsch will play John and
Lynn Collins will be his love interest
as the Princess of Mars, Dejah Thoris.

You will recognize both these names from X-Men Origins: Wolverine as
Gambit and Silver Fox. Andrew Stanton of Finding Nemo and Wall-E
fame has co-written the movie with Mark Andrews, who has done
story-boarding for Cars among other things.

Shooting begins in November and will find the desert of Utah as the surface
of Mars. The movie is planned for a 2012 release.

I'm excited to see the movie finally being made. I've read several of the dozen
or so books in the series and always thought it would make a great movie.
My only problem is that I think it's too dark a subject matter for Disney. I'm afraid
that Disney will attempt to make it a more family-friendly movie. I know the
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is not really family material, but it has
enough of a comedy element to make it light movie fare. I don't think that
will make John Carter a good movie. John Carter is an epic type movie with
sweeping vistas, grand battles, and lusty damsels in distress. I'm keeping my
fingers crossed.

What do you think? Will Disney pull it off? Have you read the
books? Did you like them? Let me know.