Is The New Matt Damon Film Just A Space-Themed Version Of Cast Away?

Acclaimed director Ridley Scott returns to his beloved sci-fi genre this year with the upcoming film, The Martian.

The new flick based on the novel of the same name, stars Matt Damon in the lead role of Mark Watney; an astronaut who is presumed dead after being caught in a fierce storm while on a mission to Mars. 

Watney is shut off from the rest of the world with no way of communicating and few resources to survive for what he predicts to be another four years before the mission is attempted again and he can be rescued — or as he simplifies it with a line we can only imagine was written for Channing Tatum in the 21 Jump Street films: "I'm gonna have to science the shit outta this."

So, while undoubtedly the film looks epic, as you'd only expect from Scott, you can't help but wonder if this film is basically a space-themed version of Cast Away — you know, the Tom Hanks film in 2000, about a guy who's stranded on an island, has no contact to the outside world, forced to fend for himself with few resources and eventually becomes best friends with a volley ball named Wilson? Yep, that one. 

No one is saying The Martian doesn't have potential — Damon in a leading role always means money and the trailer looks promising, but if he becomes best pals with his space helmet midway through then you've lost us. 

The other cool, but odd thing about this film boasts a star-studded cast - Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Community's Donald Glover - all lead actors in their own right, so you can only hope that their screen time won't be wasted for golden one liners from Damon such as "In your face, Neil Armstrong."

Then again, Cast Away did see Hanks win a Golden Globe Award, as well as score an Emmy nomination — maybe the same will happen for Damon. After all, Scott rarely misses a beat when it comes to sci-fi; his last three sci-fi directorial features were Prometheus, Blade Runner and Alien.

Check out the trailer below and see what you think — The Martian will be released in Australia on Nov 26.