John Krasinski To Direct Sci-Fi Thriller Life On Mars

John Krasinski

by James White |
Published on

He's currently enjoying the most successful outcome of his fledgling directorial career so far with A Quiet Place, and John Krasinski is striking while the iron is red hot, setting up a new project with the same producers. He's now aiming to adapt a short story into a new sci-fi thriller called Life On Mars.

Nothing to do with the 2006 TV series (or its US remake), the film will instead be drawn from Cecil Castellucci's short fiction titled We Have Always Lived On Mars. Set on the Red Planet, it focuses on a woman who is among a handful of descendants of a Martian colony that has long since been abandoned by Earth following a cataclysm. The woman one day finds she can breathe the air on Mars, upending her world and that of her fellow colonists.

Krasinski found the story, liked what he read and took it to Quiet Place producers Michael Bay, Andrew Form and Brad Fuller. They're now developing it, with Paramount looking to reunite with them and distribute the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Krasinski isn't currently aiming to star in the film, and hasn't yet decided if he'll write it or offer that job out.

A Quiet Place – Krasinski's third directorial job after Brief Interviews With Hideous Men and The Hollars, is creeping towards $60 million after less than a week on release in the States and more than $85 million worldwide so far, making for an especially impressive return given that it was shot for just $17 million. If you've seen and enjoyed the movie, find our Spoiler Special Podcast on it here or read a text version of our chat with Krasinski.

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