The Martian Author Andy Weir Explains The One Thing He Would Change About The Story [exclusive]

20th Century Studios

Looking back at the success of 2015's "The Martian," it's remarkable to realize just how influential this crowd-pleasing blockbuster really was. It helped launch author Andy Weir to the upper echelon of sci-fi writers, paving the way for even bigger box office hits like 2026's "Project Hail Mary." Alongside Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" in 2014 and Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity" the year before, Ridley Scott's adaptation also served as a bellwether for the mid-2010s "space race" in film. And, for those of a certain age, there's something genuinely nostalgic about the tone struck by both the source material and the movie — a last gasp of the sense of optimism and unity that defined the Obama-era U.S.

So, when I had the chance to speak with Weir over a Zoom interview, as he's promoting his newest original project as an executive producer on Audible's "Exoplanet" series (due later this month), I jumped at the chance to revisit the whirlwind experience of "The Martian." Has over a decade of hindsight given Weir a different perspective on his game-changing book, now that he's more established as a novelist? In response, the science-abiding author maintained he wouldn't change anything ... except for the natural disaster that sets the plot in motion in the first place on the surface of Mars:

"If I had it to do over again, there's a few minor changes I'd make. I'd probably make the initial problem not be a windstorm, because that windstorm was not physics-accurate. I'd probably have it be — well, I've since learned that there's lightning strikes on Mars, and that could be something. Lightning strikes something, it causes overload here, that causes an explosion there, and then [the other astronauts have] all got to bail, something like that."

Other than that, however? Not a thing.

20th Century Studios

When things just happen to fall into place perfectly, you count your blessings and don't look back. That's more or less the mindset Andy Weir has with "The Martian." Unlike his hands-on role with "Project Hail Mary," Weir notes in our conversation, he was much more of a passenger on this first adaptation of his work. As a result, he simply sat back and let director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Drew Goddard do their thing along with some of the best and most talented actors in the world.

Sure, the part of his brain obsessed with making things as realistic and scientifically-accurate as can be may have some corrections or two. In the book, everything goes haywire when astronaut Mark Watney is separated from his fellow crew during a hellish windstorm and is left behind on the surface of Mars, presumed dead. But while there are dust storms on the surface of Mars, Weir is correct to note that the atmosphere and gravity of the planet couldn't sustain one of this magnitude. "But other than that," he tells me, "I don't think I'd change anything."

He goes on to compare the success of "The Martian" to, well, I'll let Weir's quirky sense of humor speak for itself:

"It's like, have you ever been casually talking to a beautiful woman and then you realize she's interested in you, and you have no idea what you did right, but you don't want to jinx it? That's kind of what happened to me with 'The Martian.' I'm like, 'I don't know what I did right, but I'm sure as hell not going to change anything.' [laughs]"

For those interested in more sci-fi approved by Weir, "Exoplanet" hits Audible on November 5, 2026.