Chabon's 'John Carter of Mars' gets off the ground

I was reading where Michael Chabon co-wrote the script for "John Carter of Mars," based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and starring Taylor Kitsch ("Friday Night Lights," Gambit in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine").  

I had been wondering what's he's been up to in the film realm and what's been keeping Chabon from getting his script for his own "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" from being made. IMDB.com says that his "Yiddish Policemen's Union" is in development, too, but "Kavalier & Clay" has been on hold for years.

The Pulitzer-winning novel's film adaptation post in Wikipedia (I couldn't help myself) tells a fascinating story of a Hollywood project with big names attached (the late Sydney Pollack, Stephen Daldry, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jamie Bell) at various times that can't seem to get off the ground. It was named the "It Script" of the year by Entertainment Weekly in 2002.

"John Carter," meantime, also stars Willem Dafoe, Mark Strong and Lynn Collins (also of "Wolverine") and is due for a 2012 release. The Burroughs series of books tell of a man who goes to sleep in a mysterious cave in Arizona and wakes up on a Mars populated by extraordinary creatures, including big green men.