Drew Goddard drops out of The Martian; Matt Damon still eyed to star

Now that Drew Goddard has his future populated with Marvel projects including Sony’s SINISTER SIX movie and the Netflix DAREDEVIL series, the CABIN IN THE WOODS director has had to drop out of his science fiction project, THE MARTIAN, adapted from the novel by Andy Weir. Matt Damon is being eyed to star in the project and a new director is being sought to replace Goddard. According to The Wrap, Damon’s involvement in THE MARTIAN is pending his approval on a new director of his liking.

THE MARTIAN is being called a cross between APOLLO 13 and CAST AWAY, two great Tom Hanks movies, while others have taken to comparing it to Alfonso Cuaron’s GRAVITY.

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Damon would be interesting in a film where he would be required to carry everything himself. It would likely be a lower budget affair, heavy on special effects, but high on drama. Damon has proven himself an able actor and this would definitely be an interesting project.

THE MARTIAN is being produced by Simon Kinberg for 20th Century Fox. Damon himself is currently involved in two anticipated scifi films: Terry Gilliam’s surreal THE ZERO THEOREM and Christopher Nolan’s INTERSTELLAR. Hopefully THE MARTIAN happens as the isolated astronaut subgenre is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.