Hollywood's long-awaited John Carter of Mars film to star Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch and American actress Lynn Collins will star in the forthcoming Disney/Pixar film John Carter of Mars. The film, which is being directed by noted Hollywood director Andrew Stanton and is scheduled to land in theaters in 2012, is based on the Barsoom series of science fiction novels written by pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Taylor Kitsch will play the title character, John Carter, a Civil War veteran who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars, where he becomes involved with the warring races of a dying planet. Lynn Collins will play the role of Dejah Thoris, a Martian princess and heir to the throne of the kingdom of Helium. Both Kitsch and Collins appeared in the recent film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).

Pictured above: Lynn Collins, dressed appropriately for the role of Dejah Thoris.