Project Hail Mary author Andy Weir has apologized to Star Trek boss Alex Kurtzman in an open letter after he slammed the franchise’s modern series in a recent podcast appearance.
The 53-year-old novelist, who shot to fame when his book The Martian was adapted to a movie by Ridley Scott with Matt Damon in 2015, faced criticism after saying the current roster of Star Trek spin-offs “are s***.”
In an open letter addressed to Kurtzman, shared Monday on Facebook, Weir wrote: “I’m posting to apologize about stuff I said on the Critical Drinker’s podcast.
“I feel like my quotes were taken out of context as salacious sound bytes [sic]. I hope you saw the other parts where I said how much I like you as a person and what a nice guy you are. Also how I like [Strange New Worlds] and [Lower Decks].”
He continued: “I was trying to be funny, but in retrospect it comes off as disrespectful and mean. So I’m sorry for that. I was also trying to be self-deprecating when I said ‘But they didn’t like my pitch so fuck ‘em!’ but out of context it can read like I actually meant it.”
During his appearance on last week’s episode of Critical Drinker, Weir said he “pitched a Star Trek show to Paramount and I was in Zoom with the showrunners with all the shows and spent a lot of time talking to [Kurtzman].”
“He, as a person, is a really nice guy. But at the same time, those shows are s***. He is a nice guy. But they didn’t accept my pitch so, you know, f*** ‘em.”
Earlier in the episode, he said he subscribed to the theory that “all modern science fiction TV shows and movies have been heavily influenced by the original Star Trek — except for the current batch of Star Trek shows.”
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Weir concluded his apology on Facebook: “I’m a blunt person – always have been. And it’s been 10 years since the media cared what I had to say about anything so I kind of forgot to watch my words when I have a film in theaters.
“In a couple months I’ll be back in my cave writing novels and no one will care again. Anyway, if you want to talk about it in real time – even if it’s just to rip me a new one – I’m happy to hop on the phone or Zoom.”
The Independent has contacted Kurtzman’s representatives for comment.
Project Hail Mary recently overtook Avatar: Fire and Ash to become the highest-grossing Hollywood film of the year. Ryan Gosling stars in the movie, based on Weir’s novel, as a middle school science teacher who is tasked with traveling to space to save the world.