Pixar Wants 'John Carter of Mars' Trilogy

After wallowing in production limbo for the last ten years, Empire Online reports that Pixar has finally decided to make not one, but three films about John Carter of Mars by Tarzan creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The latest news about the project emerged when Pixar's creative team made a visit to the Burroughs's archives. Pixar's team was comprised of Jim Morris (VP), Andrew Stanton (director), and Mark Andrews (script). Carter was "a Civil War veteran whose retreat into a cave to avoid capture by Apache Indians takes an otherworldly turn as he's transported via time portal to the planet of Barsoom (aka Mars) and taken prisoner by 12-foot-tall green men". First appearing in Princess of Mars back in 1917, the character appeared in over seven novels, so there is plenty of material for the trilogy. According to reports, "All six members at the meeting expressed a deep commitment to the project, acknowledging that they had been inspired by Burroughs' creations from a very early age. This is evidenced in the excitement held for the John Carter property and the plans for a film trilogy faithful to the Burroughs books".

Rights to Carter were finalized back in January for Pixar and Disney. Reportedly, the project has been around since the 90's when Jeffrey Katzenberg had designs on a feature film version while he was still head of Disney. After that, the project made the rounds to Paramount and has had some big names attached to direct over the years, including Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau. There is still talk that Pixar will finally be getting into the live-action game with Brad Bird's telling of the San Francisco earthquake, 1906. But, there is plenty of time since they aren't exactly in a rush to get Carter into production. The first film will hit screens sometime in 2012. Talk about planning ahead ...