Last month we learned that Drew Goddard dropped out of the sci-fi film THE MARTIAN due to his commitment directing THE SINISTER SIX. Matt Damon is still set to star and now Ridley Scott is reported as being in talks to helm the picture. Goddard was going to direct his own adaptation of the Andy Weir book and it looks like his screenplay will remain for now.
Here’s the book description for THE MARTIAN (via Amazon):
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?
It's always a pleasure to see what Scott’s approach to space and sci-fi will be whenever he has a new project in the genre. The GRAVITY-like plot will need to find some unchartered territory in terms of storytelling to stand out and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge. Without Scott's own mythology to adhere to, there’s no telling what the master will do with new material to play with.