Usually, when you read about people being attached to direct movies and then later, well, not directing those movies, it follows the same path: big-name director is on a project, then parts ways, never to be associated with it again.

This was not the case with Drew Goddard and "The Martian." Goddard was originally slated to write and direct the flick, but "Alien" director Ridley Scott took over the reins of the movie, with Goddard still providing the script. It's somewhat unusual for a director to bow out of a movie but stay associated with it, so what happened?

As Goddard told MTV News at the Toronto International Film Festival, he just had too much on his plate.

"When I signed on it was to write and direct and I had this sort of lucky moment in my career where I had three projects: I had 'Spider-Man,' 'The Martian' and 'Daredevil' green lit all at the same time," he said. "No one’s going to feel bad for me. We just had to make some hard decisions. Luckily everyone was like, we still want you involved. It fell to me to make the decision as to what I was going to direct."

Luckily, Scott was interested. As you may know, dude has a little experience in space.

"When your backup plan is Ridley Scott, it sort of makes your decisions much easier," Goddard said. "I think everyone was happy that that worked out the way it did. I felt like I broke up with a woman and the next day she was dating Brad Pitt and I’m like wait a minute, can’t you miss me a little more?"

And just because he didn't act as director, doesn't mean Goddard's not still enormously proud of the movie. He also said that it reflects a lesser-known part of Scott's personality.

"I just want people to see it because we’re really proud of it. I really feel like it’s different," he said. "I think people are going to be surprised that a Ridley movie is this funny and optimistic, because Ridley is really funny and optimistic. It’s more his personality than I think maybe his films are, though I think his films are all reflections of him. It’s nice to see parts of his personality come through. It’s a dry, British, almost Python-esque humor."

"The Martian" hits theaters October 2.