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Andy Weir’s sci-fi book The Martian Tale was an immediate hit following its publication during 2014, but despite its popularity, it was an odd choice as a high-cost movie project. Initially released independently, the book leans strongly on the inner thoughts of the space botanist and engineer the character Mark Watney as he goes into painstaking detail on his strategies to stay alive once left behind on the red planet through cultivating potatoes and dismantling pieces of vintage space agency rovers. Dialogue is sparse in the text and abundant with clarifications about molecular interactions.

Yet director Ridley Scott and scribe Drew Goddard produced a mesmerizing feature in The Martian, that debuted a decade back on Oct. 2, 2015. The actor Matt Damon masterfully captures what makes Watney such a compelling protagonist: the way his can-do attitude and geeky humor banish the existential dread of a situation where his chances to live are very slim. Similar to the source novel, the film presents highly realistic sci-fi, filled with laughs and excitement. Nonetheless, the creators needed to implement some concessions to the medium, devoting extra attention to the mission control team working to recover Watney, and adding more action to the climax. Those modifications resulted in the loss of a couple of the top parts contained in the initial literary work.

A Tale Centered on Survival Math

The Martian Saga focuses on nutritional calculations. Watney fixates on the quantity of sustenance he needs to live, while mission control attempts to devise how to get him more. Once a mishap wipes out his cultivated potato patch and a quickly prepared Mars-directed relief bundle explodes post-takeoff, the stranded man’s last option is a save attempt by his former colleagues that unintentionally departed without him.

Both versions explicitly state that this approach, requiring the Ares III team orbiting around our planet and back to Mars to rescue Watney, is highly dangerous. However, Weir draws a more direct parallel regarding the perils encountered by the entire team.

The Morbid Contingency Plan

The ship needs to catch its own supply rocket to obtain adequate supplies and liquids to make it to Mars and back. In case of failure, the astronauts maintain a morbid contingency plan: each person excluding the systems analyst Beth Johanssen (portrayed by Kate Mara on screen) would end their own lives. Beth, selected as the only one to live, given her minimal age and stature, would resort to cannibalism for survival. When the Ares III does get the supplies, the relieved crew jokes about which member Beth might have consumed initially. That’s quite macabre wit, so the reasoning for its exclusion is apparent, but I still like the narrative tightness in making every character confront with the cruel nature of survival in space. It further shows their willingness to perish for one another, beyond just aiding Watney.

The Dramatic Silence Period

The cinematic rendition likewise excludes the tensest section of The Martian to allocate additional runtime to the rescue operation aspects that takes place in space. In the book, Watney loses his ability to communicate with NASA, leaving him to his own devices through the concluding segment of the plot. The astronaut then needs to journey to a craft designated for an upcoming Martian expedition. That voyage is threatened because of a particulate storm that will hinder his vehicle’s power cells from energizing and finally immobilize him. NASA knows the storm is coming, but can’t warn him. They are kept in tense expectation to see if Watney will figure out the situation and modify his strategy, or if every attempt they made to rescue him will prove pointless.

Again, it’s not surprising this part was cut from the cinematic version. Ongoing dialogue between Watney and other characters makes the film more dynamic. However, I still somewhat desire Goddard and Scott had been a bit gutsier and relied on Damon to hold down scenes where he battles the environment solo, with the supporting cast placed mirroring the spectators’ perspective: helplessly hoping for the best.

Anticipating Upcoming Film Projects

The writer is going back to Weir’s stories with an adaptation of his 2021 novel The Hail Mary Initiative, scheduled for 2026 under the direction of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. In the vein of The Martian, the story highlights a solitary cosmonaut utilizing his intellect and resourcefulness to stay alive. Ryan Gosling will be filling a comparable part to Damon’s: a film personality with sufficient charm to maintain multiple isolated shots while landing Weir’s idiosyncratic humor. Hopefully, that film will match the quality of The Martian, yet regardless, the novel is definitely worth reading to observe which elements fail to make the jump.