Walt Disney Pictures is betting big on their new movie JOHN CARTER with an estimated budget of 250 million dollars! That sure is a crap load of money to put into one project, but if anyone can afford it, it’s Disney. JOHN CARTER is directed by Disney animation veteran Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, FINDING NEMO) and stars up-and-coming teen girl heartthrob Taylor Kitsch who you may remember as the craptacular version of Gambit in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. To be fair, I hear he does a pretty great job in the hit TV show FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

JOHN CARTER is a film based on a character created by author Edgar Rice Burroughs who is also the creator of the famous character Tarzan. The character of John Carter has appeared in a number of novels and comic book adaptations throughout the years and has gained a cult following. Here is a brief synopsis of this new film adaptation:

Civil War vet John Carter 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.

Sounds pretty wild. The trailer below sure does look ambitious. I can see why Disney pounced on this franchise with the recent success of James Cameron’s AVATAR. However, I do predict that audiences will not be so kind to JOHN CARTER. While I personally think this movie looks all kinds of awesome, I’m not sure the general public will feel the same way. Maybe it’s due to the lack of marketing, maybe it’s the fact that it got pushed out of the summer blockbuster lineup, or maybe it’s just a gut feeling. I really want movies like this to succeed and hope JOHN CARTER can find it’s audience. For the record, I think this will end up being a really fun and visually spectacular movie and wish it would have been released in the summer where it belongs. Only time will tell if JOHN CARTER has what it takes to be a box office hit.

JOHN CARTER opens March 9th 2012.