Hot off his buzzed-about horror movie "The Cabin in the Woods," Drew Goddard is in negotiations to write and direct "The Martian" for Fox.

Based on the e-book by Andy Weir, "The Martian" follows an astronaut who becomes stranded on Mars and must figure out how to survive long enough to return to Earth.

The project has been described as a cross between "Apollo 13" and "Cast Away," and insiders say it is quite different from Alfonso Cuaron's upcoming drama "Gravity," which finds Sandra Bullock stranded in space.

Simon Kinberg is producing "The Martian" through his Genre Films banner along with Aditya Sood. Fox exec Steve Asbell is overseeing the project for the studio.

"The Cabin in the Woods" was a low-budget horror movie that has earned high praise from genre fans. The Lionsgate film grossed $66 million worldwide.

Goddard is one of Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriters, having written "Cloverfield" for Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams, as well as "Robopocalypse" for Steven Spielberg. He also had a hand in writing this summer's tentpole "World War Z," which stars Brad Pitt.

Repped by UTA, Goddard started his career as a writer on such seminal series as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Angel," "Alias" and "Lost."