Jessica Chastain Cast in Ridley Scott's THE MARTIAN

Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain is in talks to take on the lead female role opposite Matt Damon in Ridley Scott's sci-fi film The Martian.

The story is based on an e-book written by Andy Weir that follows an astronaut who gets stranded on Mars and must figure out how to stay alive long enough to get back home. The movie has been described as a cross between Cast Away and Apollo 13.

Chastain is a great actress, and she and Damon should make a great on screen team. She's also been in films such as Lawless, Tree of Life, and A Most Violent Year, which comes out later this year, as well as Christopher Nolan's Interstellar

Here's a more detailed description from the book:

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?

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