Matt Damon Fights for His Life in New Trailer for Ridley Scott’s The Martian
Images via YouTube, 20th Century FoxWhen Mark Watney declares “I am the greatest botanist on this planet,” he means it literally.
The new full-length trailer for The Martian, released this morning, sees Watney (Matt Damon) walloped by a flying boulder during an intense storm, after which he is left for dead by his fellow astronauts. A battered but breathing Watney determines he needs to “science the shit out of” his situation in order to maximize his meager Martian resources until he can hopefully be rescued. Space Cast Away, engage!
This is The Martian’s second trailer, on the heels of the initial teaser released in June. The new clip recycles plenty of footage, but also gives us a much closer look at Watney’s struggles to survive on the Red Planet. “So I gotta make water and grow food on a planet where nothing grows,” Watney laments, establishing the compelling impossibility of his situation. Judging by the trailers alone, Damon’s performance is going to be a doozy—the actor brings a grim but bracing levity to the role, making Watney seem like a character worth spending most of a movie alone with. Chances are we’ll be hearing Damon’s name come awards season.
The Martian is directed by Ridley Scott and scripted by Drew Goddard, based on Andy Weir’s bestselling novel of the same name. The film has an almost excessively excellent cast, including Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean (whose character must inevitably die), Sebastian Stan, Donald Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September before opening stateside.
The Martian hits theaters on Oct. 2. Watch the full-length trailer above and the first teaser here.