‘Project Hail Mary’ Author Andy Weir Just Ended the Star Wars vs. Star Trek Debate with One Perfect Answer

Few debates run as deep in geek culture as the eternal tug-of-war between ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Star Trek.’ Fans have spent decades picking sides, arguing over lightsabers versus phasers, the Force versus the Federation, and which universe better captures the spirit of science fiction.

Andy Weir, the bestselling author behind ‘The Martian’ and ‘Project Hail Mary,’ would seem like the perfect person to settle the score. His novels are steeped in hard science and space exploration, and his fingerprints on modern sci-fi storytelling have made him one of the genre’s most recognizable voices.

So when BookBrowse asked him the classic either/or question, ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Star Trek,’ Weir sidestepped the whole debate entirely. His answer was simply, “Doctor Who.”

The response might catch casual fans off guard, but it tracks for anyone who has followed Weir’s public comments over the years. He has openly discussed his devotion to the long-running British series, even revealing on the video podcast “A Night In” that he keeps a TARDIS prop in his office and has watched every surviving episode of the show.

Weir has also admitted to writing ‘Doctor Who’ fan fiction, a detail that makes his BookBrowse answer feel less like a joke and more like an honest declaration of loyalty. For an author whose entire literary brand is built on meticulous scientific accuracy, gravitating toward a series famous for bending the rules of time and space is a fun contradiction.

The ‘Doctor Who’ answer also lands differently given Weir’s recent history with ‘Star Trek.’ Earlier this year, he stirred controversy after appearing on the Critical Drinker podcast, where he revealed that Paramount had rejected a ‘Star Trek’ series pitch he brought to executive producer Alex Kurtzman.

During that same conversation, Weir didn’t hold back his opinions on the franchise’s current era, dismissing most of the Kurtzman-produced shows while singling out ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ and ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ as exceptions. The comments spread quickly across entertainment outlets and eventually prompted Weir to post an open letter of apology to Kurtzman, saying his remarks had been taken out of context as “salacious sound bytes.”

Given that backdrop, sidestepping the ‘Star Wars’ versus ‘Star Trek’ question with a cheeky third option feels almost like a diplomatic escape hatch. It lets Weir express his true fandom without reigniting a debate he’s already found himself tangled up in once this year.

Whatever franchise Weir personally favors, his own contributions to science fiction continue to resonate with audiences. ‘Project Hail Mary,’ adapted into a film from Amazon MGM Studios starring Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace, has become another major success story following the blockbuster reception of ‘The Martian.’

Weir has said he took a more hands-on role in bringing ‘Project Hail Mary’ to the screen than he did with his earlier adaptation, describing himself as a full producer this time around rather than an outside observer. That deeper involvement suggests his creative instincts extend well beyond the page, informed by decades of steeping himself in the sci-fi properties he loves most, ‘Doctor Who’ very much included.

For fans hoping Weir might eventually take a crack at writing for the Whoniverse himself, his years of enthusiasm and even fan fiction suggest the door isn’t entirely closed. Until then, his BookBrowse answer stands as a reminder that even the genre’s biggest names can’t always be pinned down to a simple binary choice.

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