Directors are a fickle lot, and will continue to be until the end of time... or until the replace directors with the same software that creates actors. At any rate, The Martian is a movie that's already seen two directors inside of a year, with original choice Drew Goddard leaving the project to go play with Marvel's toys over at Sony. Of course, when one director leaves, another will usually take their place to keep things going. In this case, that "second choice" is a man who has more than a little experience with stories of peril in space: Ridley Scott. For the last couple weeks, however, it's been unclear where this film would fit in his schedule, with Prometheus 2 supposedly being earmarked as his next film. At least, that was a question until Simon Kinsberg, a producer on The Martian, said otherwise.
If you were looking forward to the return of Michael Fassbender's David, you're going to have to wait a little longer, as IndieWire has Kinsberg on record saying that The Martian is going to start filming this fall, thus positioning it as Ridley Scott's next motion picture. Based on the book by Andy Weir, and starring Matt Damon in the lead role, The Martian is about astronaut Mark Watney: a man who's left behind after a rushed evacuation effort to get off of Mars. Pitted against time, the environment, and a few other hoops to jump through, Watney will attempt to get home by any means necessary. Think Gravity, but with more actual gravity.
To add a bit of speculation into the mix, I wonder if this little bit of scheduling with The Martian could mean that Matt Damon might be available to return to the Bourne franchise after all, considering Universal has bumped the film's release date to 2016 to accommodate his calendar.
While I'm probably one of the only people still looking forward to the prospect of Prometheus 2, at this point I think the potential for delay can only benefit the film. There's going to be a lot of work that's going to have to go into this sequel in order to also bring disgruntled fans back to the table. Delaying Prometheus 2, while disappointing on the surface, could actually be a really good tactic for the franchise's future. Plus, this means we're getting a Ridley Scott/Matt Damon team up on a story that promises to be Scott's most exciting film since Prometheus. (I'm sticking to my guns on the whole Prometheus thing, so you're just going to have to deal with it.)
The Martian could very well be landing on March 4, 2016; or it could not. Either way, we're promised a Ridley Scott movie on that day, so watch this space for more information. Or better yet, possible confirmation by the man himself.
