After Phil Lord and Christopher Miller departed as co-directors from Disney’s Han Solo movie over creative differences, and news later emerged that the duo’s signature comic tone had become a major point of contention with the cast and studio executives, the big question that’s been floating around is where the tandem would end up next. After all, between the successes of the Jump Street movies and The LEGO Movie, it’s not as though one high-profile separation could stop their rapid ascension to the upper echelon of distinctive, well-paid filmmakers.
Today, we got our answer: Deadline reports that Lord and Miller have signed on for Artemis, an adaptation of the yet-to-be-released latest novel by Andy Weir (The Martian). Artemis won’t be published until November 17th of this year, but 20th Century Fox has already hired Lord and Miller to help select a writer and fast-track the project, given The Martian’s overwhelming critical and fiscal success alike.
Artemis is described as the story of “Jasmine Bashara, aka Jazz, just another too-smart, directionless twentysomething chafing at the constraints of her small town and dreaming of a better life. Except the small town happens to be named Artemis — and it’s the first and only city on the moon. She’s got debts to pay, her job as a porter barely covers the rent, and her budding career as a smuggler isn’t exactly setting her up as a kingpin, much to her disappointment. So when the chance at a life-changing score drops in her lap, Jazz can’t say no, and she finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.”
Lord and Miller are a proven entity, and in their hands, this could well end up being their (slightly) more serious version of a space adventure that they attempted to put together with Han Solo. But in the meantime, Artemis will become Fox’s next hopeful success (and would-be franchise starter). Lord and Miller will also be busy with the upcoming fourth season of The Last Man on Earth while attached to the Fox property.
