‘Project Hail Mary' author explains viral ‘Star Trek' comments

Andy Weir, the bestselling author of The Martian and Project Hail Mary, walked back sharp remarks he made about Paramount+’s Star Trek lineup.

Weir’s comments went viral after appearing on the Critical Drinker podcast last week.

He revealed that he once pitched a Trek series to executive producer Alex Kurtzman, only to have it rejected.

While praising Kurtzman as “a really nice guy,” Weir bluntly added, “Those shows are shit.”

He singled out Strange New Worlds and Lower Decks as exceptions, calling them entertaining, while dismissing the rest of the Kurtzman-era titles.

The backlash was swift.

Fellow author Don Winslow scolded Weir on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “…For the record, Alex Kurtzman is a visionary writer, creator, producer and you owe him an apology… writer to writer.”

Weir posted a lengthy apology on Facebook March 30 addressed to Kurtzman.

In an open letter posted to Facebook, Weir addressed executive producer Alex Kurtzman directly,

“Hey, Alex… Andy Weir here. 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. 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 SNW and LD.”

Weir explained that his bluntness was meant to be self-deprecating especially when he joked, “they didn’t like my pitch so f**k ’em!”

But he acknowledged that, stripped of context, the line read as if he genuinely meant it.

“I was trying to be funny, but in retrospect it comes off as disrespectful and mean. So I’m sorry for that,” he wrote.

The author also reflected on the sudden scrutiny his words received, “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.”

He closed by offering Kurtzman a chance to talk directly, “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.”

His apology came as Project Hail Mary continues to dominate the box office, crossing $300 million globally, as per The Hollywood Reporter, to become Hollywood’s biggest film of 2026 so far.