Phil Lord & Chris Miller’s ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brings In ‘The Martian’ Writer Drew Goddard
Project Hail Mary, another movie that will sendRyan Goslinginto space, is bringing inDrew Goddard. Goddard has been tapped to help with the story for thePhil LordandChris Millermovie, making this the second time Goddard has adapted the work of authorAndy Weir(Goddard also wrote the script for the adaptation of Weir’s bookThe Martian). LikeThe Martian,Project Hail Maryfinds an astronaut millions of miles from home.The Hollywood Reporterhas the scoop on Drew Goddard joining the team ofProject Hail Mary. As previouslyreported, the film is an adaptation of an upcoming book by Andy Weir, author ofThe Martian. Ryan Gosling is set to star in the flick, playing “an astronaut who wakes up to find himself millions of miles away from home, in a tiny craft with two dead crewmates for company and no recollection of his mission or even his name. But this man will soon discover he is humanity’s only hope for survival from an extinction-level threat.”
Goddard has a long list of credits to his name, includingCloverfield,The Cabin the Woods, and 2018’sBad Times at the El Royale. He was also a writer onBuffy the Vampire Slayer,Angel, andLost. As THR adds, Goddard isn’t technically writing the script – at least not yet. Instead, he’s been brought in to help Lord and Miller with the story. Goddard might assume full screenwriting duties if he can work it into his schedule.
Here’s the part of the story where I tell you I’m not a big fan ofThe Martian. Yes, I know people love it. Yes, I know it received multiple Oscar nominations. But it just didn’t work for me, and I don’t know how excited I am about watching another Andy Weir space story adaptation. That said, the talent involved here – Lord and Miller, Goddard, and Gosling – is definitely attention-grabbing, so I’ll just hope for the best.
Lord and Miller are producingProject Hail Maryalong with Aditya Sood, president of film for the Lord Miller production banner. Amy Pascal is also on board as a producer, along with Gosling and Ken Kao. MGM is all-in on the film, plunking down $3 million for the rights to the book, which isn’t even published yet. When the project was first announced, Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy, MGM’s film group president, said:
“All of us at MGM are incredibly excited by this literal dream team coming together around Andy’s astounding novel. With their masterful ability to balance drama, action, and humor, Phil and Chris are the perfect filmmakers to take on this unique material and we are thrilled to have them partner with Ryan, Ken, Andy, Amy and Aditya to bring this movie to life for big screens everywhere.”
