In what’s likely an effort to spark positive word-of-mouth for Disney’s blockbuster film “John Carter,” D23 members in select cities across the United States are being offered a chance to see the movie for free at early preview screenings.

Screenings will take place the week of March 5, 2012, leading up to the March 9 full release of the film. Cities included in the screening offer are: Albany, Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fresno, Ft. Lauderdale, Grand Rapids, Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City (KS), Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, Norfolk, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Washington DC, and West Palm Beach.

Free tickets for 3D screenings of “John Carter” will be made available on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 11 a.m. PST on this D23 web page. The limited number of tickets will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis to D23 members in good standing plus one guest each, with valid photo ID and D23 membership card needed for entrance.

Having seen “John Carter” myself in a press screening a few days ago, I whole-heartedly encourage each and every D23 member to take advantage of this offer. While my full film review is embargoed until its countrywide release date on March 9, I will say that despite what you may think about the film from its messy marketing and less-than-stellar reactions from the clips shown at the 2011 D23 Expo, “John Carter” is a film worth seeing. (Check back on March 9 for my full thoughts on the movie.)

“John Carter” is based on the classic novel, “A Princess of Mars” by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known for writing Tarzan. Though it’s tough to gather the plot from the trailers that Disney has released, the film tells the story of a Civil War-era captain John Carter who gets mysteriously transported to Mars and thrust into a battle to save the planet from domination.