We’ve got a couple of title changes to report today, one of them quite disappointing. We’ve confirmed that director Andrew Stanton’s (Wall-E) adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ sci-fi epic John Carter of Mars has been changed by Disney to the bland John Carter. I understand the studio’s nervousness about marketing a big-budget sci-fi movie set in the Civil War and on Mars featuring no Will Smith-level stars, but taking the words “of Mars” out of the title doesn’t change that fact that Dr. Carter—er—John Carter actually goes to Mars. John Carter is just terribly a bland title. It tells you nothing about the film. It could easily be a Kevin James comedy about a guy who has a wacky talking dog as a roommate (someone will make this, I'm certain). The film features Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, and Bryan Cranston. John Carter hits theaters March 9th, 2012.

Additionally, Dark Horizons has confirmed that Andrew Niccol’s (Gattaca) sci-fi flick Now has undergone yet another title change, and will now be referred to as In Time. Previously titled I’m.Mortal, then Now, the flick stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, and takes place in a futuristic society where aging can be stopped so trading years in life becomes the predominant currency. The film hits theaters October 28th. Hit the jump for a plot synopsis of John Carter (ugh).

 

Here’s the synopsis for John Carter:

 

Academy Award(r)-winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton brings this captivating hero to the big screen in a stunning adventure epic set on the wounded planet of Mars, a world inhabited by warrior tribes and exotic desert beings. Based on the first of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “Barsoom Series,” the film chronicles the journey of Civil-War veteran John Carter, who finds himself battling a new and mysterious war amidst a host of strange Martian inhabitants.

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