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.
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.Ending
Side by side, in our words.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.
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.
Mapping
21 rows. Every source unit, including the ones that never appear.| Source unit | What happens there | On screen | Notes | Tag | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 sequence | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 sequence | kept | strong | |
| Chapters 4-6 · Watney begins keeping a running log of his survival attempt | Watney begins keeping a running log of his survival attempt. | Film, video logs to camera | kept; the private written log becomes an on-camera video log | strong | |
| 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 scenes | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 One | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 One | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 Two | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 Two | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 Two | kept | primary | strong |
| 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 Two | kept | strong | |
| 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 Two | kept | primary | strong |
| 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. | omitted | omitted; the film keeps Watney in continuous contact with NASA through the rest of the story | primary | strong |
| 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. | omitted | omitted; no dust storm threatens the overland journey in the film | primary | strong |
| 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 sequence | condensed; a shorter, less elaborate rover-and-trailer sequence | partial | |
| 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. | omitted | omitted | primary | strong |
| 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 act | kept | strong | |
| 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, climax | kept | strong | |
| 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, climax | kept | strong | |
| 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, climax | replaced; Watney actually punctures his glove and executes the maneuver, and Lewis herself makes the untethered rescue grab | primary | strong |
| 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, climax | kept | strong | |
| N/A - the novel has no epilogue | The 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 epilogue | invented; a several-years-later scene of Watney teaching astronaut candidates on Earth, with the Ares 3 crew and NASA staff shown afterward | primary | partial |
Change log
The argument. The mapping above is the evidence.- OmittedWatney'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 16-18 → omittedThe 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
- OmittedWith 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 16-18 → omittedRemoves an entire suspense subplot built on dramatic irony between what NASA knows and what Watney can find out.Attribution: unknown / production decision
- OmittedDescending into Schiaparelli crater, Watney's modified rover assembly rolls over in soft sand, forcing him to right and repair it before continuing.Novel, chapters 19-21 → omittedCuts one of the novel's late physical-peril set pieces demonstrating Watney's resourcefulness under a fresh emergency.Attribution: unknown / production decision
- CondensedThe 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 19-21 → Film, third-act travel sequenceThe 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 changeThe novel's Venkat Kapoor, who describes himself as Hindu, is renamed Vincent Kapoor and cast with a Black actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor).Novel, Mars-operations chapters → Film, NASA scenesThe 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
- ReorderedInstead 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 chapters → Film, climaxReassigns 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
- InventedThe 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 airlock → Film, closing sceneReframes 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, unflinchingThe 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 10-13 → Film, second actA gentler adaptation could have downplayed one of the two near-fatal setbacks; the film keeps both as attested.Attribution: unknown / production decision
- Kept, unflinchingWatney'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 chapters → Film, second actPreserves one of the novel's clearest reminders that Watney's improvisation carries risk of death.Attribution: unknown / production decision
- Tonal shiftThe novel's dense, page-by-page scientific problem-solving narration is trimmed to broader strokes in the film's dialogue.Novel, throughout → Film, throughoutChanges 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 shiftBeth 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 chapters → Film, theatrical cut · TheatricalChanges an attested relationship dynamic; the Extended Edition partially restores the novel's version in a deleted scene.Attribution: unknown / production decision
- CondensedThe 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 throughout → Film, Mission Control sequencesKeeps 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 Watney88
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 / role | Botanist and mechanical engineer on the Ares 3 crew, its most junior member. | preserved |
| Personality | Relentlessly resourceful and darkly humorous, narrating his own survival through sarcastic personal logs. | preserved |
| Body / ability | Impaled by debris during the dust storm and forced to remove the object and treat the wound himself. | preserved |
| Moral code | Willing to break NASA safety rules and improvise dangerous experiments purely to survive, without becoming reckless toward others. | preserved |
| Relationships | Keeps up a one-sided joking rapport with Commander Lewis's disco music collection, which he says he hates. | preserved |
| Arc | Moves from disbelief and improvisation-driven panic to a settled survival routine, and finally to renewed hope once contact with NASA is restored. | preserved |
| Plot function | Independently solves the food, water, and communication problems that keep him alive long enough to be rescued. | preserved |
| Plot function | Loses 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 story | omitted |
Melissa Lewis71
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 / role | Commander of the Ares 3 mission and the crew's geologist. | preserved |
| Personality | Takes personal responsibility for the crew's safety extremely seriously, blaming herself for leaving Watney behind. | preserved |
| Appearance | Described as a tall, physically substantial woman.the casting does not carry over this stated physical description | altered |
| Personality | A devoted fan of 1970s disco and television, the only entertainment media left behind for Watney. | preserved |
| Moral code | As commander, ultimately leads her crew into an unauthorized mutiny against NASA's orders to save Watney. | preserved |
| Plot function | Leads the crew's unanimous vote to defy NASA and turn the Hermes around for Watney. | preserved |
| Plot function | Organizes 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 Beck | altered |
Chris Beck75
| Vocation / role | Ares 3's doctor, biologist, and dedicated EVA specialist. | preserved |
| Personality | Introverted and cautious, but grows more willing to take risks over the course of the mission. | preserved |
| Relationships | Enters a secret romantic relationship with crewmate Beth Johanssen during the mission. | preserved |
| Plot function | Physically performs the tethered EVA that grabs Watney and pulls him to safety at the story's climax.the film reassigns this action to Commander Lewis | altered |
Beth Johanssen75
| Vocation / role | Crew's computer specialist and systems engineer, the youngest member of Ares 3. | preserved |
| Personality | A self-described computer geek who enjoys the Beatles and Agatha Christie novels. | preserved |
| Relationships | Her 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 novel | altered |
| Plot function | Her override skills let the crew disable Hermes's automatic safety systems to carry out the unauthorized course change. | preserved |
Rick Martinez100
| Vocation / role | Ares 3's pilot, a former Air Force flyer known for precision piloting. | preserved |
| Personality | An extroverted, joking, devoutly Catholic family man, married with a son. | preserved |
| Relationships | Shares a close friendship with Watney built on mutual joking rapport. | preserved |
| Plot function | Flies the MAV and Hermes maneuvers and helps carry out the crew's mutiny. | preserved |
Alex Vogel100
| Vocation / role | The mission's chemist and the only non-American member of the Ares 3 crew, representing the EU. | preserved |
| Personality | Serious and reserved, but well liked and respected by the crew for his technical skill. | preserved |
| Relationships | A family man with a wife and children waiting on Earth. | preserved |
Venkat Kapoor → Vincent Kapoor80
His role, personality, and plot function carry over closely; the one counted miss is the book-stated identity the casting changes.
| Identity | The 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 silence | altered |
| Personality | Pragmatic and results-oriented, avoiding grand rhetorical gestures in favor of concrete plans. | preserved |
| Vocation / role | NASA's Mars mission director, the first person at NASA to act on evidence that Watney is alive. | preserved |
| Moral code | Initially underestimates analyst Mindy Park's judgment before coming to rely on and promote her. | preserved |
| Plot function | Coordinates the Pathfinder-recovery and resupply-probe plans as NASA's point person for saving Watney. | preserved |
Mindy Park100
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 / role | A low-level satellite-imagery analyst at NASA's SatCon division. | preserved |
| Plot function | The first person on Earth to notice, from surveillance imagery, that Watney is still alive. | preserved |
| Arc | Initially intimidated by NASA's senior leadership, she grows steadily more confident and assertive as her expertise becomes indispensable. | preserved |
| Plot function | Becomes NASA's dedicated point of contact for monitoring and decoding Watney's movements throughout the rescue effort. | preserved |
Mitch Henderson100
| Vocation / role | Ares 3's flight director, the crew's most direct advocate at Mission Control. | preserved |
| Personality | Blunt and outspoken, with strong opinions about how NASA should communicate with the Ares 3 crew. | preserved |
| Moral code | Repeatedly challenges Administrator Teddy Sanders's decisions to withhold information, arguing the crew and public deserve the truth. | preserved |
| Plot function | Secretly relays the Rich Purnell maneuver to the Hermes crew after Sanders formally rejects the plan, enabling their mutiny. | preserved |
Teddy Sanders100
| Vocation / role | NASA's Administrator, with final authority over mission decisions and public messaging. | preserved |
| Personality | Politically savvy, image-conscious, and risk-averse, aware the public holds him accountable for the agency's failures. | preserved |
| Moral code | Manages subordinates and the public by controlling access to information rather than through open communication. | preserved |
Creator stance
Time-stamped. Co-creators are never collapsed.No other adaptation of this source is catalogued.
Sources
Every score note points here. Wikipedia is a lead, not an authority.- productionMetacritic: The Martian (2015) Details
Runtime, release date, and production companies for the 2015 film - productionBox Office Mojo: The Martian (2015) Credits
Director, screenplay, producer, and distributor credits - primaryThe Credits (MPA): The Martian's Screenwriter Drew Goddard on Adapting What He Loves
Drew Goddard's account of adapting the novel and what he cut - primaryChristian Science Monitor: An Interview with The Martian Director Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott's account of adapting the novel's science and tone - primaryBustle: What Does Andy Weir Think Of The Martian Movie?
Andy Weir's on-the-record statement that the film is a very faithful adaptation - secondaryScreenRant: The Martian Book Vs Movie Differences
Mapping and change-log detail on cut scenes, the rescue sequence, and the epilogue - secondaryNerdist: The Biggest Differences Between The Martian Movie and Novel
Detail on the Pathfinder short-circuit, the dust storm, the rover rollover, and the epilogue - secondaryRipple Foundation Wave Blog: A Book vs. Movie Comparison: The Martian
Independent confirmation of the removed dust-storm subplot and the added epilogue - secondaryTheWrap: Ridley Scott's The Martian Blasted for Changing Characters' Races
The casting change for Vincent Kapoor and the MANAA criticism - secondaryCBS News: Martian Criticized for Changing Races of Asian-American Characters
Second, independent account of the Kapoor and Mindy Park casting changes - referenceShmoop: Venkat Kapoor Character Analysis
Novel's description of Kapoor's role and personality - referenceGradeSaver: The Martian Characters
Novel-stated traits for the full character roster, including Kapoor's stated Hindu identity - referenceLitCharts: The Martian Characters
Novel-stated traits for the Ares 3 crew and NASA staff - productionHigh-Def Digest: The Martian: Extended Edition Blu-ray Review
Extended Edition runtime and release date - secondaryScreenRant: The Martian Extended Edition: All 11 Added Scenes
List of scenes added in the Extended Edition - referenceGradeSaver: The Martian Study Guide Summary
Chapter grouping used for the mapping table's granularity
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.