Ridley Scott’s The Martian abducts Sean Bean

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Ridley Scott’s high-concept sci-fi thriller THE MARTIAN already has a very impressive cast, including Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mara, Michael Pena and Kristen Wiig, but it’s not about to stop adding names to the roster now. THR reports the always-badass Sean Bean has just jumped aboard the film, adding just the right amount of rugged determination the film needed.

Bean will play a NASA flight director attempting to help – from very afar – Damon’s character, an astronaut stranded on Mars. Here’s the full synopsis:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney (Damon) 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?

Drew Goddard wrote the screenplay (and was originally supposed to direct). 20th Century Fox will distribute THE MARTIAN in the not-too-distant future.

Jessica Chastain