Matt Damon Phones Home In Screenshots For Ridley Scott’s The Martian

Cast astray on the Red Planet after an interplanetary space mission is upended by a ferocious storm, Matt Damon’s wayward botanist Mark Watney will act as the main character in Ridley Scott’s The Martian, and in today’s pair of new stills, we see our protagonist attempt to contact the crew of Ares-3 to engineer a way home.

Running low on resources and hope, it’s up to Damon’s lone astronaut to carve out a livelihood on the martian terrain as he hunkers down for the arduous four-year wait, and the first trailer perfectly sums up his plight. After beaming a rudimentary SOS to the Ares-3 ship, Watney must “science the shit” out of his unnatural surroundings if he is to grow enough edible food to survive for the long haul.

On the other end of the radio waves, the Ares-3 staff face massive risks if they are to venture back to Mars in order to pluck Watney from the sun-scorched martian soils. Not only do the trailers hint that NASA is against any attempts to return to Mars – meaning that Ares-3 risk mutiny by defying a direct order – but there’s also the small problem of interplanetary travel with limited resources. Guess Damon’s character ought to get comfortable.

Alongside Damon for the Oscar-tipped drama are Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Sebastian Stan, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Sean Bean, Mackenzie Davis, and Ant-Man star Michael Pena.

Before venturing into the more sci-fi regions of the genre with Prometheus 2, Ridley Scott will bring The Martian to the Toronto International Film Festival for its worldwide premiere, before it makes track for a theatrical release on October 2.

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return.