The Martian’s Simon Kinberg Reveals He “Went After” Project Hail Mary (Exclusive)

Andy Weir’s critically-acclaimed catalog is making its way back to the big screen. The science fiction author first saw his work go Hollywood in 2015, as director Ridley Scott paired with Matt Damon to bring about a live-action adaptation of The Martian. This project went on to be one of the most commercially and critically successful films of its release year and won enough awards to warrant its own separate Wikipedia page. In the time since The Martian was published, Weir has penned two more science fiction novels: Artemis and Project Hail Mary. 

Artemis was once planned for a feature film adaptation, signing directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to helm the project while The Martian‘s Simon Kinberg would produce. Five years on, it has yet to come to fruition. 

Priorities seem to have shifted towards developing a Project Hail Mary movie instead, as this past May it was announced that Lord and Miller’s next live-action venture would be taking on that space-based story. Ryan Gosling is attached to star as Project Hail Mary‘s lead character Ryland Grace. While Lord and Miller seemingly pivoted from Artemis to Project Hail Mary, they are doing so without Kinberg.

The Martian Producer Simon Kinberg Wanted Project Hail Mary

If he had got his way, Simon Kinberg would be producing another Andy Weir sci-fi epic.

“I love that book and candidly went after that book, but another producer got it,” Kinberg told ComicBook.com when asked about his potential involvement in Project Hail Mary. “I know Chris (Miller) and Phil (Lord) who are incredible filmmakers and are great dudes. I know them personally. They’re hopefully going to direct that movie and I’m sure it’ll be incredible.”

Kinberg has a deep-rooted history with Weir, as he produced the author’s first feature film adaptation, The Martian, in 2015.

“The Martian is also one of my favorites of anything I’ve worked on. I loved the book so much,” Kinberg continued. “We bought the book or optioned the book when it was an unpublished, almost an unfinished manuscript. It became a bestseller while we were making the movie. It was just a lucky, blessed process. Drew Goddard wrote a perfect script. Obviously, Ridley Scott is the master of science fiction. All the stars aligned on that film.”

While his next big screen sci-fi moves remain to be seen, Kinberg has his hands full on the streaming side of things with Invasion, which airs its big Season 2 finale on Wednesday, October 25th on Apple TV+.