Back in May we let you know that Ridley Scott was in talks to direct THE MARTIAN with Matt Damon set to star an astronaut stranded on Mars trying to get home. Well it seems Scott has settled on the sci-fi picture as his next project. Speaking on Jeff Goldsmith's podcast recently, producer Simon Kinberg confirmed that THE MARTIAN will Scott's next project, and he is looking to start production this fall.
Here is the synopsis for author Andy Weir's THE MARTIAN:
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?
You will recall that Drew Goddard was initially attached to direct but dropped out due to his commitment directing THE SINISTER SIX. It turns out Goddard completed what Kinberg described as an "incredible script" before he left so it could still remain for Scott to run with. There was speculation of a March 4th, 2016 release date for an untitled Ridley Scott project; some said BLADE RUNNER and others said PROMETHEUS 2. With the news that THE MARTIAN is rolling this fall, one might decipher that as great as Scott is, he can’t do every project we want him to. He would have to complete THE MARTIAN and then prepare, shoot, and finalize PROMETHEUS 2 for March 2015. That’s just crazy talk; unless he doesn’t direct the film and March 4th could be for something else entirely and…I’ve gone cross-eyed.
THE MARTIAN sounds interesting enough; and while it’s certainly going to be compared to GRAVITY, the talent behind the movie should be able to deliver something great that stands apart from Sandra Bullock’s CAST AWAY in Space.