The Martian: Book vs. Movie
Ridley Scott’s 2015 film The Martian is adapted from Andy Weir’s 2011 book of the same name. Both follow astronaut Mark Watney, stranded on Mars and forced to find ways to grow food, repair equipment, and contact Earth.
From Books Adapted
What changed from the book
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The drive across Mars loses a hundred pages of trouble
The movie follows Weir's novel through the rescue, but greatly shortens Watney's journey from the habitat to the next mission's launch vehicle. Drew Goddard and Weir agreed early that roughly a hundred pages could become a short montage.
That means the book has problems the movie skips: a dust storm threatens Watney's power supply, and his rover overturns. Weir said removing those setbacks kept an already long movie from dragging.
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Lewis makes the catch, and the movie follows everyone home
The movie makes Commander Lewis the person who catches Watney during the rescue. Goddard said he wanted their reunion to complete a story about colleagues who respect and care for each other, without turning it into a romance.
The ending and credits also add glimpses of what happens afterward, including the next Ares mission. Those scenes extend beyond the novel's ending. Goddard said they grew from wanting to see the characters continue their lives and work after the rescue.
About the book and the movie
- Author
- Andy Weir
- Year
- 2011
- Pages
- 462Buy book
- Audiobook length
- 10 hr 59 minGet audiobook
- Narrator
- Wil Wheaton
Left behind after his crew believes him dead, Mark Watney keeps a log of his efforts to survive on Mars. With limited supplies and no working connection to Earth, he tackles each failure with calculations, improvised repairs, and a running commentary on his bad luck.
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Writer
- Drew Goddard, Andy Weir
- Year
- 2015
- Runtime
- 2 hr 21 minWatch on Amazon
- Cast
- Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels
- Genre
- action, Adventure, Drama, science fiction, survival
- IMDb
- View on IMDb
Astronaut Mark Watney survives a storm that forces his crew to evacuate Mars. While he works to stretch his food supply and make contact, NASA and his crewmates search for a way to bring him home.
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