Every since it was announced that Ridley Scott (‘Blank Runner‘,’Prometheus‘) was going to direct the film adaptation of the Andy Weir novel ‘The Martian, I’ve been wanting to know who would be starring in it with Matt Damon in the lead. Now it looks like two names have popped up. As filming hasn’t begun and the film has a November 2015 release date. you know they can’t wait too long to hear about the rest of the casting and it looks as if Jessica Chastain (‘Zero Dark Thirty’,’Mama‘) and Kristen Wiig (‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’,’Arrested Development’) are up for the female lead.

Now, what is interesting about that statement is that none of the women in the book would really be considered a lead. There are a few in there but no stand out that has as much page time as Mark Watney, the man who the story revolves around that will be portrayed by Damon.

There are two women in the book who might be pushed forward as a lead. One is Commander Lewis who is a leader of the crew and helps make some of the big decisions. The other is Mindy Park who is part of NASA and could also factor in as well. Could the trades have these two women set for different roles in the film? It’s hard to say with how little details are coming out and no set female lead from the books.

I’m sure we’ll hear a lot more about the film shortly as everything starts to come together so keep checking back at ScienceFiction.com for the latest!

Novel Synopsis:

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?

Source: SlashFilm