Michael Pena and Jessica Chastain Target Ridley Scott’s The Martian

Both Jessica Chastain (Tree of Life) and Michael Pena (End of Watch) are, according to Variety, in early talks to join Matt Damon in 20th Century Fox’s The Martian.

The Martian is based on Andy Weir’s 2012 e-book publication, which issued a print edition this past February. It is officially described as follows:

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?

Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood are attached to produce The Martian.

(Photo Credit: Andres Otero / FayesVision / WENN.com)

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