Fresh from launching the critically adored Project Hail Mary into the cinematic stratosphere, the dynamic directing duo of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are already looking toward their next potential science-fiction voyage. While their immediate focus is on completing Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, a long-gestating adaptation of Andy Weir's lunar novel Artemis remains a tantalizing possibility in their creative pipeline.
In a recent interview, the pair revealed they have a "backlog of like seven or eight things" vying for attention post-Spider-Verse. Among them is Artemis, a project first announced in 2017, the same year the book was published. The adaptation has weathered significant industry shifts, originally being developed at Fox before its acquisition by Disney, and has seen its development timeline stretch over several years.
A Lunar Heist in Development Limbo
The path to bringing Artemis to the screen hasn't been straightforward. After an initial flurry of activity, updates grew scarce. The last major development came in 2018 when Geneva Robertson-Dworet, now a co-showrunner on Fallout, was tapped to write the screenplay. Lord and Miller have since confirmed a script exists and have spoken optimistically about its direction, though it's unclear if it's Robertson-Dworet's original draft or a newer version.
The directors pinpointed a unique creative hurdle: figuring out "how to execute one-sixth gravity." Given that the entire story unfolds on the Moon, portraying low-gravity environments authentically was a crucial technical and narrative challenge. They suggest this issue has been resolved, indicating the project is technically viable and remains a contender among their slate of future films, awaiting the right alignment of schedules and studio greenlights.
Meet Jazz Bashara: A New Kind of Weir Hero
Artemis represents a fascinating pivot in Andy Weir's catalog. While it retains his signature commitment to plausible "hard sci-fi," it trades the solitary survival narrative of The Martian or Project Hail Mary for a coming-of-age heist story. The novel follows Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara, a young smuggler navigating life in Artemis, humanity's first lunar city, in the 2080s.
Jazz is a defiant, morally flexible, yet ultimately good-hearted protagonist—a character archetype Lord and Miller have mastered. Desperate for a big score, she accepts a lucrative offer from a businessman to sabotage a rival's mining operation, a decision that quickly spirals and makes her the target of a powerful lunar crime syndicate. Weir's world-building shines, with the Moon's environment and economy—centered on tourism but reliant on skills like welding and security—becoming integral characters in the story.
This blend of high-stakes action, scientific intrigue, and a chaotic yet sympathetic lead seems tailor-made for Lord and Miller's sensibilities. Their filmography, from The Mitchells vs. The Machines to the Spider-Verse films, proves their knack for balancing sharp, accessible comedy with emotionally resonant, high-concept stories. As Project Hail Mary continues its box office ascent, their credentials for smart sci-fi are stronger than ever.
The success of Project Hail Mary demonstrates a robust audience appetite for Weir's brand of science-grounded storytelling. While Artemis didn't achieve the same monumental success as Weir's other novels, its cinematic potential is significant. It offers a faster-paced, character-driven plot that could benefit immensely from Lord and Miller's visual flair and comedic timing, much like how certain streaming series have redefined genre storytelling.
Whether Artemis becomes the duo's next project depends on navigating their crowded schedule. However, the mere fact it's being actively discussed is the most promising update on the lunar adventure in years. For fans of inventive sci-fi, the prospect of Lord, Miller, and Weir reuniting to bring the first city on the Moon to life is a mission profile worth watching.
