Prolific filmmaker Ridley Scott has inked a deal to helm an adaptation of S. Craig Zahler’s Western novel, Wraiths Of The Broken Land – which will reunite with The Martian scribe Drew Goddard.
Published in 2013, Zahler’s period drama is literally worlds away from Andy Weir’s spirited and inspiring survival tale of life on the Red Planet. Taking place near the Mexican border during the turn of the 20th century, Wraiths of the Broken Land sees “a group of men assemble and storm across the badlands to find their captive sisters, doing anything they deem necessary to achieve their goal. Lives, ethics and sanity are imperiled during the wild, brutal struggle that ensues and nobody is safe.”
Michael Schaefer of Scott Free is attached to produce alongside Genre Films’ Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood. It’s too soon for casting details but Fox, buoyed by the international success of The Martian – to the tune of $500 million at the box office – was reportedly keen to reunite the Scott/Goddard dream team.
After all, with Andy Weir’s novel, Scott and Goddard engineered a crowd-pleasing triumph in The Martian, pulling in a number of awards to boot – including the frankly ridiculous nod for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. Wraiths Of The Broken Land may represent a completely different, but no less fascinating proposition for both talents, but we’re excited to see how Fox’s new adaptation comes together.
As for Ridley Scott, the filmmaker is serving as producer on Warner Bros. and Alcon’s long-in-development Blade Runner 2, while also fleshing out his Alien prequel trilogy with the release of next year’s Alien: Covenant.
