While Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar won’t be split into two parts, we’ll be seeing another starry adventure careen into orbit roughly one year later. Based on the e-book by Andy Weir, Ridley Scott’s exploratory disaster pic, The Martian, will land in November 2015 with just as impressive an ensemble. As production is gearing up to commence soon, we’ve another round of additions to what’s becoming quite the boastful cast.
Headlining the pic is Matt Damon, who’ll be playing astronaut Mark Watney. After a severe storm rattles his crew during a Mars exploration mission, they abandon him after mistakenly believing him to be dead. The supporting cast, some of whom will take to the red planet with Damon, include Jeff Daniels, Sean Bean, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena and Donald Glover. How starry can you get? As it turns out – a lot more.
EW has revealed today that Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave), Sebastian Stan (both Captain America pics) and Mackenzie Davis (That Awkward Moment) have all clambered aboard the sci-fi adaptation. Information on the roles taken by Stan and Davis are unconfirmed, but we have learned that Ejiofor will play “Venkat Kapoor, the Director of the Mars Mission.” Will this mean he’s on the ground with Daniels, Wiig and Glover? Or in the thick of it in a sweaty spacesuit? Let your thoughts run rampant, as we’ve got a whole year to find out.
Production on The Martian begins in Budapest next month, and it’s scheduled to arrive in theatres on November 25th, 2015. You can check out the official book synopsis below:
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?
