Taylor Kitsch, who played Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Lynn Collins, who played Wolverine’s female, have joined Disney’s John Carter of Mars. All we need now is Liev Schreiber and Will.I.Am and we have a Wolverine spin-off set in space!

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins will star in “John Carter of Mars,” the adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs book series that Andrew Stanton is directing for Disney.

The movie is a big step for Stanton — who as one of Pixar’s top creators directed the company’s animated films “Finding Nemo” and “WALL-E” but will now helm his first live-action feature — and Disney, which hopes the big-budget production will launch a franchise on the scale of “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“Carter” centers on a civil war veteran who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars, where his involvement with warring races of the dying planet force him to rediscover his humanity.

I wonder if their involvement in X-Men Origins: Wolverine helped them get the roles, with one of them recommending the other to the director and producers. Either way this could end up rather entertaining, especially since they have Andrew Stanton who has worked magic at Pixar for years. However, will he be able to work the same magic in a live action environment?

In other John Carter news Thomas Haden Church, who played Sandman in Spider-Man 3, told Reel Talk that he too has joined the cast. The way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if they hire an actor who appeared in The Dark Knight and another from Iron Man. Get all the superhero bases covered.

Filming will begin at the beginning of 2010, with the release date currently set for 2012. This gives them plently of time to get it right (and possibly change the name to something a little cooler).

The third and final trailer for X-Men Origins: Wolverine is now online. It was supposed to debut over at MTV however USA Today got in a few hours earlier. The trailer features lots of what we have seen before, with a good dose of new scenes featuring Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Silver Fox (Lynn Collins), Agent X (Daniel Henney) and Gambit (Taylor Kitsch).

USA Today were also given some new character shots which can be seen below.

Images combined by /film

Hugh Jackman has responded to the X-Men Origins: Wolverine reshooting fiasco. From AICN:

Hey everyone -

It’s Hugh Jackman, sending this note from freezing Vancouver. I have read a lot of your online comments regarding the footage that we are currently shooting and I share your passion for the Wolverine character and the movie – I owe it all to you guys!

I wanted to reach out and let you know that due to scheduling conflicts with certain cast members and location/weather considerations, we had to wait until now to shoot a couple of scenes. Please rest assured that WOLVERINE will be badass and hopefully meet all of your expectations. I am stoked by the positive response to the teaser, which clearly reflects the tone and scope of the film. If you like that, we’ve got much more in store!

In the meantime, here’s an exclusive shot of some characters you may recognize…

Cheers,

Hugh