Hollywood Popular Artists

Taylor Kitsch will be battling aliens this summer when "Battleship" hits theaters next month, and that's not his first time fighting enemies from space this year. Of course, "John Carter" didn't exactly light up the box office, but Kitsch is still very proud of his work on the Mars-set science fiction flick.

"My heart was in that film and I'm very proud," he told MTV News during a recent interview at CinemaCon. "I'm standing by it."

The movie was a labor of love for Kitsch and director Andrew Stanton, but it didn't resonate with audiences in the way it was intended. Kitsch clearly still loves the film, and is upset that it didn't do as well as many had hoped.

"It is sh--ty, of course. It is sh--ty, and it happens. Every movie I'm going to do is a risk, and I'm not going to stop taking them," he said. "So it's exciting to have these two come up, and I definitely mourned, had my moment with it, talked to Stants forever about it, and I'm going to work with Stants again. It's not going to stop any of that kind of stuff. So yeah, it is what it is."

When asked if he thinks "John Carter's" failure to succeed in the box office could be attributed to any specific thing, Kitsch played coy.

"To each their own. If someone wants to point a finger, that's okay," he said with a smile. "It truly is a waste of energy to worry about variables out of my control."

You can find out more from Kitsch about "Battleship" during tonight's MTV First.

Are you bummed "John Carter" didn't do better in theaters? Tell us in the comments section below or on Twitter!