According to THR, The Newsroom and Dumb and Dumber To actor Jeff Daniels has boarded Ridley Scott’s upcoming science fiction film, The Martian. He joins Matt Damon, and recently-reported actors Michael Pena, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, and Kate Mara.
Based on the eponymous novel by Andy Weir, The Martian centers on an astronaut (Damon) who is stranded on Mars after his crew is forced to abort their sixty-day mission. Daniels will play the director of NASA who’s trying to launch a rescue mission.
The Martian doesn’t have a release date yet, but is expected to begin production soon. Ridley Scott is directing from a script by Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard. The film is being produced by Scott, X-Men: Days of Future Past‘s Simon Kinberg, 20th Century Fox’s Steve Asbell and Let’s Be Cops‘s Aditya Sood.
We’ll have more news on The Martian as it becomes available.
