For the second year running, Matt Damon will be donning a space suit and playing someone who has been stranded on another planet, presumed dead. This time around though he'll have the lead role, and will be a much more likeable character than his Interstellar role. Damon seems a great fit for Mark Watney, who's a down-to-Earth (pardon the turn of phrase there) and generally nice guy. If you've read the book and then picture Damon as the character, it just makes perfect sense. While the focus is on him, there is A LOT of talent in the supporting roles as well, with one of the biggest and most impressive ensembles of 2015. O:, deep breath... Jessica Chastain, who also appeared in the big sci-fi movie of 2014, actually gets to go into space this time around. She'll be Commander Lewis, the leader of the failed Ares 3 mission to Mars that leaves Watney behind. The crew will be rounded out by Kate Mara, as computer-whiz Beth Johansson; Sebastian Stan as flight surgeon Chris Beck; Michael Pena as pilot Rick Martinez; and Aksel Hennie as German astronaut Aleks Vogel. Back on Earth, the NASA staff are represented by Sean Bean (will he die in this film?) as Mitch Henderson, the Ares 3 flight director; Chiwetel Ejiofor as Vincent Kapoor, the man in charge of Mars exploration; Kristen Wiig as NASA press officer Annie Montrose; and Jeff Daniels as the head of the organisation, Teddy Sanders. And breathe out. An A-list cast is of course no guarantee of success, but all of these roles seem to be perfectly filled, and the talent here can hopefully bring much more to the supporting characters, as they're arguably the weakest element of the book.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
