'John Carter' Trailer: 5 Things to Know [VIDEO]

The first full trailer for Walt Disney Pictures' John Carter was released on Wednesday.

Starring Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights) as the title character, John Carter is based on the A Princess of Mars, the 1917 sci-fi novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Burroughs went on to write 10 sequels based on Carter and the planet Mars, known as the Barsoom series.

While the trailer does not give much away, John Carter appears to be an entertaining mix of films like Avatar, Gladiator and even some Star Wars films.

The two-minute video introduces Carter, dressed in gladiator gear, entering a stadium full of green barbarians. He kills his enemy -- a large, tusked creature -- in one blow, impressing all those watching, including Tars Tarkas, played by Willem Dafoe.

Unlike the first teaser trailer, which features Peter Gabriel's My Body is a Cage, the full trailer is pumped with the familiar riff of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir (a la Puff Daddy).

Here are five things to know about John Carter, opening Mar. 9, 2012. [Scroll to the end for the latest trailer as well].

Tim Riggins
Yes, John Carter is played by the same actor who portrayed Tim Riggins on Friday Night Lights (on-and-off) for five seasons. John Carter will be Taylor Kitsch's first major role in his career. The 30-year-old Canadian actor has appeared in a handful of major films before, but John Carter is the first to feature Kitsch in a leading role.

If John Carter propels Kitsch past the Tim Riggins shell, his next film Battleship will surely make him a household name. Kistch's previous film credits include X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Bang-Bang Club and Snakes on a Plane.

The Pixar effect
Your eyes haven't deceived you. Andrew Stanton, the director of John Carter, is indeed the same legend behind Pixar classics such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, WALL-E and Up. Stanton, 45, has been a long time director and executive producer at Pixar Animation Studios.

John Carter is Stanton's first live action picture.

No really, that's Willem Dafoe
You might not recognize his face behind all the CGI, but Willem Dafoe is indeed the voice of Tars Tarkas, the green tusked giant in the film.

He is the leader of the green-men tribe of Tharks . . . he's their Jeddak, which is the Martian term for 'king' or 'leader, Stanton told Entertainment Weekly recently.

Defoe is not the only big name in the film. Lynn Collins, Thomas Haden Church, Samantha Morton, James Purefoy and Bryan Cranston are also in John Carter.

John Carter the star
This is not the first time John Carter the character has been made into a movie star. In 2009, Antonio Sabato, Jr. portrayed the ancient hero in the straight-to-DVD film, Princess of Mars, which also starred ex-porn star Traci Lords.

John Carter is also mentioned in other novels, including The War of the Worlds and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

In addition to the Barsoom series, John Carter was featured in various comic books in the 1930s and 1940s, and later in the 1970s.

The 3-D story
While John Carter has been heavily advertised as a 3-D film (along with IMAX versions and Real D), none of the film was actually shot in 3-D.

I've gotta say, what I've seen, I've been pretty blown away by. There are some scenes that I must admit are better in 3-D, so I don't think that people feel that they're just getting pimped out for more money, Stanton explained to EW.

I shot it intentionally as a 2-D film . . . for people like me who go to 2-D. I just wanted there to be a fair choice, because I know some people like their 3-D, and some people that don't, and they tend to not cross over, he added.