Andy Weir Brings Time-Bending Audio Drama to Audible

Andy Weir, the brilliant mind behind "The Martian" and "Project Hail Mary," is taking readers on a completely new kind of adventure this fall.

Instead of writing another bestselling novel, Weir is executive producing "Exoplanet," an audio-only sci-fi thriller launching November 5, 2026, on Audible. The project teams him with comic book veteran Benjamin Percy and a powerhouse cast including Anthony Mackie, Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, and John Leguizamo.

The story kicks off when the starship Wild Blue Yonder gets ripped apart by a quantum anomaly. The surviving crew members crash on the same deadly planet, but here's the twist: each lands in a different time period, separated by centuries.

Chief Engineer Jeff Shaw battles the hostile present while trying to get home to his daughter. First Officer Becca Bang fights for survival in an alien past. Science Officer Logan Bowers wakes up in a machine-ruled future that shouldn't even exist.

The crew must figure out how to communicate across time itself while a relentless alien intelligence hunts them across every timeline. It's a race against extinction with the survival of humanity hanging in the balance.

Why This Inspires

This project shows how storytelling is evolving in exciting new directions. Audio drama allows listeners to experience the crackling desperation of voices reaching across 500 years in ways print simply can't capture.

The production spared no expense on quality either. Lucasfilm's legendary Skywalker Sound handled the sound design, while composer Rob Cairns created an original score.

Supporting vocal performances come from Cherry Jones, Sufe Bradshaw, Charlie Plummer, and Ray Porter, who narrated the audiobook version of "Project Hail Mary."

Weir explains his passion for the medium perfectly: "You can't see that story. You have to hear it." He's obsessed with problems where one person and a lot of math stand between survival and disaster, and "Exoplanet" adds the challenge of people trying to save each other across impossible gulfs of time.

The project proves that innovation in storytelling isn't just about what stories we tell, but how we tell them.