Jessica Chastain’s most excellent soapbox rant about female superheroes has clearly landed her in good stead. Variety reports today that the Oscar-nominated actress and comedy stalwart Kristen Wiig are now in the running for a role in Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
Should Chastain or Wiig sign on, they’ll appear opposite Matt Damon who at the moment is attached to play the lead. The story is based on the e-book by Andy Weir, which follows astronaut Mark Watney, one of the very first men to walk on Mars. After a freak storm accident on the red planet, he must do whatever it takes to survive.
Who Chastain or Wiig will play has yet to be determined, although we’d hazard a guess and say it’s one of his crew members. Chastain has made a career of bold performances. Her role in Zero Dark Thirty landed her an Oscar nod, and she’ll be seen next in Christopher Nolan’s space drama, Interstellar. If she signs on, there’s the chance she’ll bag that much coveted golden statuette. Wiig seems an unlikely choice for the part, considering her established comedy roots. But Jim Carrey busted out of his rubbery-faced persona and went on to star in a slew of quality dramas, so it’s not entirely inconceivable.
The project has been in the works at 20th Century Fox for some time now, with Drew Goddard having originally taken the reins. His involvement in Sinister Six led to him dropping out, despite having already scripted a killer first draft. Whether Scott will still use Goddard’s material is unknown. Either way, the Blade Runner director is certainly showing no signs of decluttering his upcoming slate. This fall sees the release of his historical epic, Exodus: Gods And Kings, after which he’ll helm The Martian. Following that he’s scheduled to bring much joy to sci-fi fans worldwide with Blade Runner 2.
For more details on The Martian, check out Amazon’s full synopsis of the book 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?
The Martian is scheduled for release on November 25th, 2015.
