Robert Zemeckis' ARES

ARES

Studio: WARNER BROS.

Prod Co: Rideback

Dates: July 2020

Location: TBD

Budget: TBD

Execs: Studio Executive: Courtney Freedman

Writer (Current): Geneva Robertson-Dworet

Producer: Jonathan Eirich, Kirsten Winkler, Aaron Boyd, Robert Zemeckis

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Logline: A former astronaut with a history of alcoholism claims he was the only surivor of a top-secret mission to Mars, but his family can't tell
whether he's lost his mind or is speaking the truth.

Roles:

[EVAN LANGE]
Lead Male (46)
"The kind of hollow eyes you see in a mental hospital." An aspiring astronaut who was single-mindedly obsessed with going to Mars, when his mission was cancelled he fell into a downward spiral of alcoholism that cost him his family. Shortly thereafter, he was recruited by SURKOV for a top-secret, privatized mining mission to Mars. In the present, he finds himself stranded in the Ethiopian desert after his space shuttle Ares crashes there. Dodging law enforcement (who he is convinced want him dead), he heads to Addis Ababa to try to
reach his family - though it's unclear whether the space mission actually occurred, or whether he's had a psychotic break due to his addictions. After many runs from the law, he returns to the crashed space capsule in the desert with his family to prove his version of events. There he finds Surkov, who admits that it's true - he was sent to Mars on an exposition backed by the U.S. Department of Defense in order to retrieve a dangerous compound that could have weapons applications. Now, they want him dead in order to cover their tracks. Evan negotiates for the release of his family and then blows up the capsule, destroying all the minerals and killing himself in the process.

[CHLOE]
Supporting Female (39)
Evan's ex-wife. She attempted to hold their marriage together as Evan's obsession with going to Mars became extremely destructive, but after his negligence caused their daughter MAX to get into an accident, she split up with him. Now she is a
wealthy urban development executive in Addis Ababa, and he tracks her down in order to protect her from the men he believes are hunting him. She initially believes he's insane, but finally learns the veracity of his claims after they find the Ares in the
desert. She realizes that she still loves him, and comes to regret how her reaction to the family's troubles caused her to push Max away for the sake of her career. Evan saves her and Max from Surkov by agreeing to surrender himself.

[MAX]
Supporting Male (1 - 14)
Evan and Chloe's daughter. As a child, she resented that his father was often physically or emotionally absent while he pursued his astronaut dreams. After she got into an accident while learning to fly a plane on Evan's watch, Chloe kicked Evan out and sent him to boarding school while she pursued his career. Now a disaffected teen, she's surprisingly elated about her father's sudden return and eager to believe that Evan was, in fact, a space explorer. Evan saves him and Chloe from Surkov by agreeing to surrender himself, and Max is devastated
by Evan's death.

[MISHA SURKOV]
Supporting Male (42 - 47)
A Russian billionaire who approaches Evan about a privately funded mining mission to Mars. While on the trip, Evan and his fellow astronauts realize that Surkov never intended them to survive the trip. Surkov eventually tracks the abandoned Ares
down in the desert, and admits the entire operation was backed by the DOD, who wished to mine for valuable minerals.

[BUCK DERRINGER]
Supporting Male (52)
NASA's Mars Czar. "With a boyish face." He oversees the initial stages of the mission to Mars program before funding is cut. Later, he turns out to have been secretly funding Surkov's expedition.