NovelFilm · Direct adaptation

The Martian (2015)

Goddard and Scott keep the science-first optimism and nearly every setback, cut the book's late solo ordeal, and invent an Earth epilogue the novel never wrote.

Source
The Martian · Novel · 2011 (self-published serial/ebook); 2014 (Crown Publishing Group print edition) · 26 chapters built from 99 numbered Sol log entries plus third-person NASA and Hermes chapters
Andy Weir (author)
Crown Publishing Group
Adaptation
The Martian · Film · 2015 · 1 film, two released cuts (Theatrical; Extended Edition)
Ridley Scott (director), Drew Goddard (screenwriter), Andy Weir (novelist)
20th Century Fox / Scott Free Productions
TrueToPage 83 · The Martian (2015 Theatrical) · v0.3partial censuscatalog score
CutThe wide theatrical release; the cut the axis scores below describe.

The Extended Edition (151 minutes) adds about ten minutes of character-deepening material to the theatrical cut (144 minutes) but does not restore the dust storm, the rover rollover, or the Pathfinder short-circuit that the novel has; both cuts carry the same coverage score here.

The 2015 casting-change criticism treated Vincent Kapoor and Mindy Park as a single issue, but the underlying source claims differ: the novel explicitly states Kapoor is Hindu, which the identity rule counts as an attested trait miss, while Andy Weir has said Mindy Park's ethnicity was never explicitly written into the text, which the identity rule treats as an addition against silence rather than a counted miss.

Fidelity

Higher = more of the source is still true. Fidelity is not quality.
Plot structure75The film keeps the novel's spine in order: the dust-storm stranding, the potato farm, the Hab breach and Iris probe failure, the Chinese-donated booster, the Rich Purnell maneuver and Hermes mutiny, and the MAV launch and rescue. It drops the novel's late stretch in which Watney's drill shorts out Pathfinder and severs his contact with NASA, the resulting dust storm NASA cannot warn him about, and his rover's rollover into Schiaparelli crater; it also replaces the novel's rescue mechanics, in which Watney only proposes an 'Iron Man' maneuver that Lewis rejects and Beck performs the grab, with Watney actually executing the maneuver while Lewis makes the catch. These are a handful of load-bearing changes to an otherwise intact sequence, which keeps this axis in the mid-70s.strong evidenceN = 20 beats, source weight 32
Character87Most of the Ares 3 crew and NASA staff keep the vocation, personality, and plot-function traits the novel gives them; Rick Martinez, Alex Vogel, Mindy Park, and Mitch Henderson carry over essentially whole. The clearest identity change is Venkat Kapoor, whom the novel states is Hindu and the film renames Vincent Kapoor and casts with a Black actor, a counted miss against an attested identity trait rather than an addition against silence. Commander Lewis and Chris Beck each lose a plot-function trait to the reassigned rescue grab, and the novel's stated physical description of Lewis does not carry over in casting. Weighted toward the two leads, whose own scores sit in the high-80s (Watney) and low-70s (Lewis), the prominence-weighted mean lands in the high-80s.partial evidenceN = 10 people, weight 20
Dialogue & voice75The novel's defining device, Watney's first-person present-tense mission logs written for an eventual reader, becomes on-screen video logs addressed to a camera; the function survives as a medium translation rather than a miss, and the signature line about having to 'science' his situation and the running joke about hating Commander Lewis's disco collection both survive close to their source form. What is altered is the novel's page-by-page, show-your-work explanation of the science, which the film trims to broader strokes per Goddard's and Scott's own accounts of adapting it, along with a general reduction in Watney's sustained profanity. With more markers preserved than altered, this keeps the axis in the mid-70s.partial evidenceN = 8 voice markers
Theme & tone86The film keeps the novel's central argument that methodical competence, not despair, is the right response to near-certain death, and keeps the international-cooperation beat in which China's space agency quietly gives NASA the booster meant for its own Taiyang Shen probe. It keeps the institutional tension between NASA Administrator Teddy Sanders's information control and Mitch Henderson's push for transparency, and does not soften either the Hab breach or the Iris probe's launch failure. The one thematic shift is the ending: the novel closes on Watney's private, wary relief at merely surviving, while the film's added Earth epilogue reframes the story around his public legacy training future astronauts.partial evidenceN = 7 thematic claims
Coverage80Nearly every major movement of the novel appears on screen: the stranding, the potato farm, the Hab breach, the Iris failure, the Chinese booster, the Purnell maneuver and mutiny, and the MAV launch and rescue. Three source units never appear at all (Watney's drill-caused short-circuit that ends his contact with Pathfinder, the resulting dust storm NASA cannot warn him about, and his rover's rollover descending into Schiaparelli crater), and one is replaced rather than kept (the rescue mechanics, with Watney executing the 'Iron Man' maneuver and Lewis making the catch). Sixteen of twenty source-based beats present support a score of 80.strong evidenceN = 16 of 20 source units present
Additions restraint94The film invents almost nothing beyond staging: its one clear addition is the several-years-later Earth epilogue showing Watney teaching astronaut candidates, which the novel does not have at all. Watney's executed 'Iron Man' maneuver and Lewis performing the rescue grab are reassignments of an idea and an action the novel already contains, not new inventions, and Mindy Park's larger screen presence develops an existing character rather than adding one. With one true invention against roughly seventeen preserved source beats, this axis sits in the low-90s.partial evidenceN = 16 source beats, 1 invented

Ending

Side by side, in our words.
On the page · The Martian

After the tethered EVA pulls Watney safely into the Hermes airlock, the novel ends within pages. Its final chapter is a short, private log entry in which Watney reflects wryly and gratefully on having survived, with no scene set on Earth.

On the screen · The Martian

The film keeps the same rescue outcome, then adds a coda set some years later: Watney, now teaching new NASA astronaut candidates on Earth, narrates directly to the class about the lessons of his survival, while the surviving Ares 3 crew and NASA staff are shown having moved on in their careers.

The rescue itself and Watney's survival are identical. The film invents an entire post-rescue chapter the novel does not have; Andy Weir has said he deliberately chose not to write an epilogue for the book.

Mapping

21 rows. Every source unit, including the ones that never appear.
Source unitWhat happens thereOn screenNotesTagEvidence
Chapters 1-3 · During a violent dust storm, flying debris impales and…During a violent dust storm, flying debris impales and apparently kills Watney; the Ares 3 crew evacuates Mars without him.Film, opening sequencekeptprimarystrong
Chapters 1-3 · Watney wakes alone and injured, treats his own wound,…Watney wakes alone and injured, treats his own wound, and inventories his supplies to calculate his odds of survival.Film, opening sequencekeptstrong
Chapters 4-6 · Watney begins keeping a running log of his survival attemptWatney begins keeping a running log of his survival attempt.Film, video logs to camerakept; the private written log becomes an on-camera video logstrong
Chapters 4-6 · Low-level NASA satellite analyst Mindy Park spots…Low-level NASA satellite analyst Mindy Park spots disturbed equipment in imagery and becomes the first person on Earth to conclude Watney is alive.Film, Act One NASA sceneskeptprimarystrong
Chapters 7-9 · Watney recovers the dormant Pathfinder probe and…Watney recovers the dormant Pathfinder probe and Sojourner rover to reestablish two-way contact with NASA.Film, Act Onekeptprimarystrong
Chapters 7-9 · Watney converts the Hab into a farm, using Martian soil,…Watney converts the Hab into a farm, using Martian soil, crew waste, and manufactured water to grow potatoes and extend his food supply.Film, Act Onekeptprimarystrong
Chapters 10-12 · An airlock depressurization blows out the Hab,…An airlock depressurization blows out the Hab, destroying the potato crop and damaging equipment.Film, Act Twokeptprimarystrong
Chapters 10-12 · NASA rushes the Iris resupply probe by skipping standard…NASA rushes the Iris resupply probe by skipping standard pre-flight safety inspections; the rocket breaks apart during launch.Film, Act Twokeptprimarystrong
Chapters 13-15 · China's space agency secretly offers NASA the booster…China's space agency secretly offers NASA the booster built for its own Taiyang Shen probe in exchange for a future Ares seat.Film, Act Twokeptprimarystrong
Chapters 13-15 · NASA astrodynamicist Rich Purnell privately calculates a…NASA astrodynamicist Rich Purnell privately calculates a slingshot trajectory that could send the already-departed Hermes back to Mars.Film, Act Twokeptstrong
Chapters 13-16 · Flight director Mitch Henderson defies Administrator…Flight director Mitch Henderson defies Administrator Teddy Sanders's rejection of the Purnell plan and secretly relays it to the Hermes crew, who vote to mutiny and turn back for Watney.Film, Act Twokeptprimarystrong
Chapters 16-18 · Watney's improperly grounded drill leans against a metal…Watney's improperly grounded drill leans against a metal workbench and shorts out Pathfinder, permanently ending his contact with NASA just before his overland departure for the Ares 4 site.omittedomitted; the film keeps Watney in continuous contact with NASA through the rest of the storyprimarystrong
Chapters 16-18 · With Pathfinder down, NASA detects a dust storm bearing…With Pathfinder down, NASA detects a dust storm bearing down on Watney's overland route to Schiaparelli crater and has no way to warn him.omittedomitted; no dust storm threatens the overland journey in the filmprimarystrong
Chapters 19-21 · Watney modifies two rovers and rigs a jury-built…Watney modifies two rovers and rigs a jury-built trailer, using the RTG's radioactive heat to survive the cold during the multi-week overland drive.Film, third-act travel sequencecondensed; a shorter, less elaborate rover-and-trailer sequencepartial
Chapters 19-21 · Descending into Schiaparelli crater, Watney's rover…Descending into Schiaparelli crater, Watney's rover assembly rolls over in soft sand, and he must right and repair it before continuing.omittedomittedprimarystrong
Chapters 19-21 · Attempting to manufacture water from leftover hydrazine…Attempting to manufacture water from leftover hydrazine rocket fuel, Watney is knocked back by an unexpected explosion.Film, second actkeptstrong
Chapters 22-26 · To meet the faster Hermes flyby intercept, NASA has…To meet the faster Hermes flyby intercept, NASA has Watney strip the MAV of its nose cone, windows, and other non-essential mass.Film, climaxkeptstrong
Chapters 22-26 · Watney launches in the stripped-down MAV and is thrown…Watney launches in the stripped-down MAV and is thrown wildly off his intended trajectory during ascent.Film, climaxkeptstrong
Chapters 22-26 · To close the final gap for pickup, Watney proposes…To close the final gap for pickup, Watney proposes puncturing his suit glove to use the escaping air as a thruster ('Iron Man'); Lewis calls it too dangerous, and Beck instead performs the tethered EVA grab that pulls Watney to safety.Film, climaxreplaced; Watney actually punctures his glove and executes the maneuver, and Lewis herself makes the untethered rescue grabprimarystrong
Closing chapters · Watney is pulled safely aboard Hermes and the crew…Watney is pulled safely aboard Hermes and the crew begins the voyage home; the novel's final chapter closes with a short, private log entry.Film, climaxkeptstrong
N/A - the novel has no epilogueThe novel ends at the Hermes airlock with no scene set on Earth; Andy Weir has said he deliberately chose not to write one.Film, closing epilogueinvented; a several-years-later scene of Watney teaching astronaut candidates on Earth, with the Ares 3 crew and NASA staff shown afterwardprimarypartial

Change log

The argument. The mapping above is the evidence.
  • Omitted
    Watney's improperly grounded drill shorts out and permanently destroys Pathfinder, cutting off his contact with NASA just before he sets out overland for Ares 4.
    Novel, chapters 16-18omitted
    The film keeps NASA in live contact with Watney for the entire back half of the story, removing the novel's late stretch of total isolation.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Omitted
    With Pathfinder down, NASA detects a dust storm directly in Watney's overland path to Schiaparelli crater but has no way to warn him.
    Novel, chapters 16-18omitted
    Removes an entire suspense subplot built on dramatic irony between what NASA knows and what Watney can find out.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Omitted
    Descending into Schiaparelli crater, Watney's modified rover assembly rolls over in soft sand, forcing him to right and repair it before continuing.
    Novel, chapters 19-21omitted
    Cuts one of the novel's late physical-peril set pieces demonstrating Watney's resourcefulness under a fresh emergency.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Condensed
    The extended, multi-week rover-and-trailer modification and overland journey to the Ares 4 MAV, detailed at length in the novel, is compressed into a shorter sequence on screen.
    Novel, chapters 19-21Film, third-act travel sequence
    The novel's multi-week engineering and travel sequence becomes a shorter on-screen montage.
    Attribution: Drew Goddard, per his account of compressing the Hab-to-MAV chapters
  • Identity / design change
    The novel's Venkat Kapoor, who describes himself as Hindu, is renamed Vincent Kapoor and cast with a Black actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
    Novel, Mars-operations chaptersFilm, NASA scenes
    The book states a specific identity for the character, so the casting change is a counted trait miss rather than an addition against silence.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Reordered
    Instead of Chris Beck making the tethered EVA grab that pulls Watney to safety, the film has Commander Lewis herself perform the final rescue, and Watney actually executes the glove-puncture 'Iron Man' maneuver he only proposes, and Lewis rejects, in the novel.
    Novel, climax chaptersFilm, climax
    Reassigns the story's single most visible rescue action from a supporting crew member to the commander, and stages a maneuver the book treats as a rejected, undramatized idea.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Invented
    The film adds a several-years-later epilogue showing Watney teaching new NASA astronaut candidates on Earth and reflecting on his survival, with the Ares 3 crew and NASA staff shown having moved on in their careers.
    Novel has no epilogue; the final chapter ends at the Hermes airlockFilm, closing scene
    Reframes the story's final note from private survival to public legacy; Weir has said he chose not to write a coda for the book.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Kept, unflinching
    The film keeps the Hab breach and the Iris resupply probe's launch failure on screen at full severity, including Watney's despair after losing the resupply mission, rather than softening either setback.
    Novel, chapters 10-13Film, second act
    A gentler adaptation could have downplayed one of the two near-fatal setbacks; the film keeps both as attested.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Kept, unflinching
    Watney's hydrazine water-making experiment, which nearly kills him in an explosion, is kept on screen with its physical danger and aftermath rather than being cut for pacing.
    Novel, potato-farm chaptersFilm, second act
    Preserves one of the novel's clearest reminders that Watney's improvisation carries risk of death.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Tonal shift
    The novel's dense, page-by-page scientific problem-solving narration is trimmed to broader strokes in the film's dialogue.
    Novel, throughoutFilm, throughout
    Changes how much of Watney's specific technical reasoning survives on screen versus being summarized or implied, per Goddard's and Scott's own accounts of the adaptation.
    Attribution: Drew Goddard and Ridley Scott, per their interviews
  • Tonal shift
    Beth Johanssen and Chris Beck's relationship, an open secret called out directly by Commander Lewis in the novel, is kept more secretive in the theatrical cut, revealed only through a private helmet-to-helmet moment between the two of them.
    Novel, Hermes chaptersFilm, theatrical cut · Theatrical
    Changes an attested relationship dynamic; the Extended Edition partially restores the novel's version in a deleted scene.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision
  • Condensed
    The novel's account of NASA's internal deliberations across many separate scenes involving Mitch Henderson, Teddy Sanders, Annie Montrose, and Venkat Kapoor is compressed into fewer, more concentrated Mission Control scenes.
    Novel, Earth chapters throughoutFilm, Mission Control sequences
    Keeps the same institutional conflict but gives NASA's media-relations director a smaller, more background presence than her book role managing the story's public messaging.
    Attribution: unknown / production decision

People

Trait score = attested traits kept ÷ attested traits shown. Unstated traits are not rows.
Mark WatneyleadAltered7/8 attested traits kept88

Nearly all of Watney's stated personality, morals, and plot function survive; the one dropped trait is the extended stretch of total isolation and self-reliance after Pathfinder goes dark, which the film does not depict.

Vocation / roleBotanist and mechanical engineer on the Ares 3 crew, its most junior member.preserved
PersonalityRelentlessly resourceful and darkly humorous, narrating his own survival through sarcastic personal logs.preserved
Body / abilityImpaled by debris during the dust storm and forced to remove the object and treat the wound himself.preserved
Moral codeWilling to break NASA safety rules and improvise dangerous experiments purely to survive, without becoming reckless toward others.preserved
RelationshipsKeeps up a one-sided joking rapport with Commander Lewis's disco music collection, which he says he hates.preserved
ArcMoves from disbelief and improvisation-driven panic to a settled survival routine, and finally to renewed hope once contact with NASA is restored.preserved
Plot functionIndependently solves the food, water, and communication problems that keep him alive long enough to be rescued.preserved
Plot functionLoses contact with NASA immediately before departing for Ares 4 and must complete the overland journey, including detecting an oncoming dust storm, entirely on his own.the film keeps him in continuous contact with NASA for the rest of the storyomitted
Melissa LewisleadAltered5/7 attested traits kept71

Her command role, guilt, and leadership of the mutiny carry over closely; what is lost is her stated appearance and the novel's assignment of the climactic rescue action to a different crew member.

Vocation / roleCommander of the Ares 3 mission and the crew's geologist.preserved
PersonalityTakes personal responsibility for the crew's safety extremely seriously, blaming herself for leaving Watney behind.preserved
AppearanceDescribed as a tall, physically substantial woman.the casting does not carry over this stated physical descriptionaltered
PersonalityA devoted fan of 1970s disco and television, the only entertainment media left behind for Watney.preserved
Moral codeAs commander, ultimately leads her crew into an unauthorized mutiny against NASA's orders to save Watney.preserved
Plot functionLeads the crew's unanimous vote to defy NASA and turn the Hermes around for Watney.preserved
Plot functionOrganizes the rescue plan but does not personally perform the final EVA grab that pulls Watney to safety.in the film, Lewis herself performs the rescue grab that the novel gives to Beckaltered
Chris BecksupportingAltered3/4 attested traits kept75
Vocation / roleAres 3's doctor, biologist, and dedicated EVA specialist.preserved
PersonalityIntroverted and cautious, but grows more willing to take risks over the course of the mission.preserved
RelationshipsEnters a secret romantic relationship with crewmate Beth Johanssen during the mission.preserved
Plot functionPhysically performs the tethered EVA that grabs Watney and pulls him to safety at the story's climax.the film reassigns this action to Commander Lewisaltered
Beth JohanssensupportingAltered3/4 attested traits kept75
Vocation / roleCrew's computer specialist and systems engineer, the youngest member of Ares 3.preserved
PersonalityA self-described computer geek who enjoys the Beatles and Agatha Christie novels.preserved
RelationshipsHer relationship with Beck becomes an openly acknowledged 'open secret' within the crew, called out directly by Commander Lewis.the theatrical cut keeps the relationship secret from Lewis rather than an open secret; the Extended Edition restores a scene closer to the novelaltered
Plot functionHer override skills let the crew disable Hermes's automatic safety systems to carry out the unauthorized course change.preserved
Rick MartinezsupportingSame4/4 attested traits kept100
Vocation / roleAres 3's pilot, a former Air Force flyer known for precision piloting.preserved
PersonalityAn extroverted, joking, devoutly Catholic family man, married with a son.preserved
RelationshipsShares a close friendship with Watney built on mutual joking rapport.preserved
Plot functionFlies the MAV and Hermes maneuvers and helps carry out the crew's mutiny.preserved
Alex VogelcameoSame3/3 attested traits kept100
Vocation / roleThe mission's chemist and the only non-American member of the Ares 3 crew, representing the EU.preserved
PersonalitySerious and reserved, but well liked and respected by the crew for his technical skill.preserved
RelationshipsA family man with a wife and children waiting on Earth.preserved
Venkat KapoorVincent KapoorsupportingAltered4/5 attested traits kept80

His role, personality, and plot function carry over closely; the one counted miss is the book-stated identity the casting changes.

IdentityThe novel names him Venkat Kapoor, NASA's director of Mars operations, who describes himself as Hindu.the film renames him Vincent Kapoor and casts a Black actor, changing an attested identity rather than filling a silencealtered
PersonalityPragmatic and results-oriented, avoiding grand rhetorical gestures in favor of concrete plans.preserved
Vocation / roleNASA's Mars mission director, the first person at NASA to act on evidence that Watney is alive.preserved
Moral codeInitially underestimates analyst Mindy Park's judgment before coming to rely on and promote her.preserved
Plot functionCoordinates the Pathfinder-recovery and resupply-probe plans as NASA's point person for saving Watney.preserved
Mindy ParksupportingSame4/4 attested traits kept100

All attested traits survive; the film also gives her more screen time and a larger speaking role than the novel does, without contradicting anything the novel states about her.

Vocation / roleA low-level satellite-imagery analyst at NASA's SatCon division.preserved
Plot functionThe first person on Earth to notice, from surveillance imagery, that Watney is still alive.preserved
ArcInitially intimidated by NASA's senior leadership, she grows steadily more confident and assertive as her expertise becomes indispensable.preserved
Plot functionBecomes NASA's dedicated point of contact for monitoring and decoding Watney's movements throughout the rescue effort.preserved
Mitch HendersonsupportingSame4/4 attested traits kept100
Vocation / roleAres 3's flight director, the crew's most direct advocate at Mission Control.preserved
PersonalityBlunt and outspoken, with strong opinions about how NASA should communicate with the Ares 3 crew.preserved
Moral codeRepeatedly challenges Administrator Teddy Sanders's decisions to withhold information, arguing the crew and public deserve the truth.preserved
Plot functionSecretly relays the Rich Purnell maneuver to the Hermes crew after Sanders formally rejects the plan, enabling their mutiny.preserved
Teddy SanderscameoSame3/3 attested traits kept100
Vocation / roleNASA's Administrator, with final authority over mission decisions and public messaging.preserved
PersonalityPolitically savvy, image-conscious, and risk-averse, aware the public holds him accountable for the agency's failures.preserved
Moral codeManages subordinates and the public by controlling access to information rather than through open communication.preserved

Creator stance

Time-stamped. Co-creators are never collapsed.
Andy Weir
novelist
January 2016
Championed
Weir told Bustle that although material had to be cut to keep the runtime manageable, the film is 'a very faithful adaptation of the book' and said he was thrilled with how it turned out.
About:fidelityqualitysource ↗
Drew Goddard
screenwriter
January 2016
Participating adapter
Goddard said he read the novel repeatedly before writing, cut material that served plot rather than the book's theme of science tied to survival, and noted that Weir himself flagged the roughly hundred-page Hab-to-MAV overland journey as the section that had to become a brief on-screen montage.
About:fidelitysource ↗
Ridley Scott
director
October 2015
Participating adapter
Scott said the novel's science initially intimidated him, that he worked with NASA to stay authentic 'wherever we could,' and that he wanted to preserve what he called the tongue-in-cheek humor running through Weir's book.
About:fidelitysource ↗

No other adaptation of this source is catalogued.

Sources

Every score note points here. Wikipedia is a lead, not an authority.

Record the-martian-novel-to-2015 · schema 0.2 · scoring 0.3-census · completeness partial. Fidelity is not quality; the score is not a review.