John Carter Sequel Gets A Title

It looks like the John Carter sequel talk is back in full swing from Disney and director Andrew Stanton. Now that film has screened to press members and bloggers they feel confident in bringing up the sequel again. Producer Jim Morris reveals to ComingSoon that the working title of the second film is John Carter: The Gods of Mars. Taking it's cue from the second book in the Barsoom series from writer Edgar Rice Burroughs. Morris goes on to confirm that Stanton is currently working with writer Michael Chabon on the sequel. It was reported back in during John Carter's production that a script was already being written during the shooting of the first film. Giving the impression it could be ready to go into production sometime soon.

ThePlaylist was able to get a few words from Stanton who mentioned that he is likely returning for the sequel but has another secret project to go if things don't work out. From what I've heard, people have had an overall positive experience which is great news. However, it looks like no matter how good the film ends up it's box office return is going to be the deciding factor for a sequel to be made.

John Carter Sequel Already Written?

On March 9th we're going to see one of the biggest experiments in blockbuster film-making. Disney's John Carter formerly John Carter of Mars could end up being one of the most expensive movies ever made. It's production budget is rumored to have skyrocketed past $300 million dollars that doesn't even include the money used to promote and market the film to audiences. The price tag could be around $50-100 million added to the production budget. Making the estimated cost of making this film between $350-400+ million.

The reason for the shock and awe about these numbers is that John Carter fans are mainly made up of readers of the novels. Since the books have been kicking around for 100 years it seems that everyone 35 and up will be familiar with the character. Disney's problem is that the John Carter brand isn't largely recognizable to the majority of their target audience which is 10-15 year old range. It's going to be a massive gamble for the studio when it's trying to land Star Wars sized returns without a ravenous fanbase to rely on. The project will likely have to aim for a worldwide box office return of $700 million just to be considered a success. Luckily, Andrew Stanton of Pixar is directing the film and isn't a stranger to massive box office successes.

Back when Disney was boasting John Carter as the first in a trilogy there was talk of actual progress on sequels. Director Andrew Stanton confirmed to SlashFilm on set of Carter that the second film was being written during the production. An outline for the trilogy seems to have been hatched by Stanton and the studio. When reports of the inflated budget and rumored problems in the editing room surfaced all talk of sequels stopped. There has been rumblings of successful screenings for the film recently which is a good news for Disney. In my opinion the only way we'll ever see a John Carter trilogy is if it's a monster in the international markets. If this turns out to a big hit the sequel could move into production quicker than expected.

"We outlined three altogether. But the nice thing about not doing anything in tandem is that we can learn from the first and go, “oooH! I like that guy. I like that situation. Let’s see if we can tweak that into the second and third.” We’re constantly growing and constantly adapting. We’re trying to stay ahead of it. We’re writing the second right now while we’re working on the first…"

Lily Collins Drops Out Of Evil Dead Remake

Jeff Sneider of ShowBlitz/Variety reported via Twitter today that Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror) has left talks to star in the Diablo Cody written Evil Dead reboot. Collins would have played the female lead Mia who is basically the new Ash in the film. Jeff briefly states that Lily's exit is over a conflict with other commitments which could mean a lot of things. I really hope that we end up more inspired names than Collins in the future.

Is Lily Collins The Lead In The Evil Dead Reboot?

BloodyDisgusting is reporting that Lily Collins (Mirror Mirror, The Blindside) will play Mia the female lead of the Evil Dead reboot. It had been mentioned previously that Community actress Gillian Jacobs and Jurnee Smollett were also in the mix.

Lily Collins To Play Snow White In Tarsem Singh's Brothers Grimm: Snow White

HeatVision reports Lily Collins has landed the role of Snow White in Tarsem Singh's (Immortals, The Fall) Brothers Grimm: Snow White. Lily joins Julia Roberts who plays the Evil Queen and Armie Hammer (Social Network) who was previously cast as the Prince.

John Carter of Mars' Release Date Moves Up To March 9th 2012

While Disney is slowly getting a successful return from Tron Legacy their next big science fiction film John Carter of Mars could be the studio's most ambitious film in recent memory. The adaption of the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels is getting being moved up to a release date of March 9th 2012. It will go up against Ridley Scott's Prometheus which was announced last week.

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.

Taylor Kitsch (Wolverine, Battleship) plays John Carter, Lily Collins (Wolverine) is Dejah Thoris and Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man) as Martian inhabitant Tars Tarkas. The rest of the impressive cast includes Thomas Haden Church (Sideways, Spider-Man 3), Polly Walker (Clash of The Titans, Patriot Games), Samantha Morton (Minority Report, Control), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Green Lantern), Ciaran Hinds (Munich, There Will Be Blood), Dominic West (300, The Wire), James Purefoy (Resident Evil, Rome) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad, Drive).