New Image from JOHN CARTER [UPDATED]

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has a new image from Andrew Stanton‘s John Carter.  The movie centers on a former Confederate soldier who finds himself suddenly transported to Mars and put in the middle of an epic conflict between the planet’s inhabitants.  John Carter is rumored to have an insane budget and while the movie comes out in March, Disney has held off on the marketing and hasn’t built awareness beyond the trailer from July, an edit bay visit, and showing clips at D23 (clips the rest of us haven’t seen).  Obviously, there’s still time to get everyone’s attention, but when you think about how much lead time the studio gave to The Muppets compared to a movie based on the less well-known John Carter of Mars, it’s a little difficult to understand why we’re just now getting another image.  Hopefully, we’re about to see a lot more and get a better sense of what Stanton’s conjured.

Hit the jump to check out the full image.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, Thomas Hayden Church, and Willem Dafoe.  John Carter opens in 3D on March 9th. [Update: We've updated the article with an official version of the image.]

Image via Entertainment Weekly

Here’s the official synopsis for John Carter:

From Academy Award(R)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton comes “John Carter”–a sweeping action-adventure set on the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars). “John Carter” is based on a classic novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whose highly imaginative adventures served as inspiration for many filmmakers, both past and present. The film tells the story of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly embroiled in a conflict of epic proportions amongst the inhabitants of the planet, including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins). In a world on the brink of collapse, Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.