The star of cable TV’s Breaking Bad (one of those shows I look forward to visiting on DVD when it’s all over) Bryan Cranston is the latest face to get a role in Disney’s long-awaited John Carter of Mars. But Cranston won’t be on Barsoom (what Mars’ inhabitants call the planet in Edgar Rice Burrough’s novels), he’ll be a Civil War colonel. No idea which side he’s on; in the books John Carter was a Confederate, but since Cranston is going to be ‘in conflict’ with Carter, he could be on either side of the war.
The movie starts shooting next week. I’m really excited to see the first images of the Tharks, the giant four armed green warriors. Here’s hoping that director Andrew Stanton has truly nailed this one down and that the epic, swashbuckling and yes, pulpy, adventures of John Carter are finally translated to the big screen in a way that honors the feeling of those great books.
By the way, this is NOT a Pixar movie, which means it’s not Pixar’s first live action movie. Just so you know.