Project Hail Mary's Andy Weir Has Tried To Write Screenplays, But Feels 'Constrained' By This Obstacle [Exclusive]
by Joe Roberts · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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"Project Hail Mary" was based on Andy Weir's 2021 novel of the same name, and by this point it seems as though the author has a knack for stories that play well on the big screen. "Project Hail Mary" dominated the box office upon its March 2026 release, and the 2015 adaptation of his book "The Martian" saw similar commercial success. Both were also met with critical acclaim. As such, it wouldn't seem all that silly for Weir to consider going straight to the screenplay with his future projects and skipping the novel stage altogether. But it seems the writer feels constrained by the idea of working in a visual medium.
/Film's Jeremy Mathai spoke with Weir, who referenced an audiobook called "Exoplanet" that he executive produced. This particular audiobook is an Audible Original sci-fi thriller that plays more like a movie than a book, using sound effects to convey action rather than a narrator providing a play-by-play of events. This, it seems, was a challenge for Weir, who likened it to his difficulties with writing screenplays.
"If you're writing a book, which is what I do, I can just throw in a paragraph of exposition and explain things directly to the reader and that's done," he explained. "You can't do that in an audiobook unless you have a narrator." According to Weir, "Exoplanet" writer Benjamin Percy immediately shut down the idea of having a narrator for the audiobook. "Everything is sounds that are happening in the setting," continued Weir. "I'm like, 'Okay, that makes it harder. It's your funeral.' But [Percy] pulled it off. He did a great job." Interestingly, it's this same challenge that has held Weir back from writing a movie script, despite his efforts to give it a try.
Andy Weir won't be making the leap to screenplays any time soon
Andy Weir is currently working on his next book which looks set to tackle a hot button topic by focusing on artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, many fans are surely hoping for a sequel to "Project Hail Mary." But it seems the author isn't quite ready for that yet — thought that could very well change in the near future. What he almost certainly won't be doing, however, is writing a screenplay.
As Weir told /Film, "I've tried my hand at writing scripts and screenplays in the past, and I've always felt really constrained and claustrophobic by that because you have very little space to do things." The "That" to which Weir refers is the lack of being able to insert a paragraph of exposition to explain things to readers as straightforwardly as possible. Weir continued:
"Exposition now has to be done through dialogue or visuals. Usually visuals. Visuals do a great job of exposition because you can see the whole everything that's going on, and you don't need to describe actions, you can show them. But in an audiobook, you can't have paragraphs of the exposition and you can't have visuals showing you everything that's going on. So it's very constrained."
Based on his comments about visuals being a great way to convey exposition, It sounds as though Weir would at least be more open to writing a film than a narrative audiobook along the lines of "Exoplanet." For now, however, it seems as though he's happy sticking to novels, which is no doubt fine with both his fans and studios, who, as evidenced by "Project Hail Mary" becoming one of the best movies of 2026, will continue to benefit from great films based on his ideas regardless.