20th Century Fox unleashed a stellar new trailer for The Martian today, and it’s seriously out of this world. Directed by the legendary Ridley Scott and based on Andy Weir’s best-selling novel of the same name, the film is a spectacular tale of survival and ingenuity set on the unforgiving landscape of Mars.
A catastrophic storm strikes during a manned mission on the fourth rock from the sun. Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is missing and presumed to be dead, so his crewmates are forced to depart without him. Amazingly, Watney survives, and he must find a way to stay alive and return home safely. Meanwhile, 140 million miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to save “the Martian”, as his crewmates plan a daring rescue mission of their own. The all-star cast includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
We had a chance to view 45 minutes of footage and we were blown away. We can’t wait to see more of Dariusz Wolski’s awe-inspiring cinematography and picture editor Pietro Scalia’s pitch-perfect pacing. We were dazzled by the work of VFX Supervisor Richard Stammers and a slew of masterful teams including MPC, Framestore, The Senate, ILM, and Milk VFX. The sound was equally spectacular, thanks to production sound mixer Mac Ruth, sound designer / supervising sound editor Oliver Tarney, re-recording mixer Paul Massey, and dialogue / ADR supervisor Rachael Tate. The film lands in theaters on October 2, 2015.
We also had a fantastic time touring NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab and participating in a Q&A with Ridley Scott, Matt Damon, astronaut Drew Feustel, author Andy Weir, and Dr. Jim Green, Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters.

Charles Elachi, Director of JPL (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Dr. Jim Green, Director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters (Photo by Bill Ingalls for NASA)

Andy Weir, author of “The Martian” novel (Photo by Bill Ingalls for NASA)

Director Ridley Scott (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel, Matt Damon, Director Ridley Scott, Andy Weir and Dr. Jim Green (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel, Matt Damon, Director Ridley Scott, Andy Weir and Dr. Jim Green (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel, Matt Damon and Director Ridley Scott (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel, Matt Damon and Director Ridley Scott (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Author Andy Weir and Dr. Jim Green (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel and Matt Damon (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Astronaut Drew Feustel, Matt Damon, Director Ridley Scott, Andy Weir and Dr. Jim Green (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images)

Matt Damon and Director Ridley Scott (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images) — at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Matt Damon and Astronaut Drew Feustel (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Invision for Twentieth Century Fox/AP Images) — at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Matt Damon talks on the phone with NASA Astronauts Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren who are onboard the International Space Station while Astronaut Drew Feustel looks on. (Photo by Bill Ingalls for NASA) — at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Matt Damon smiles after leaving his hand prints in cement at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Mars Yard, while Mars Science Lab Project Manager Jim Erickson (left), and Astronaut Drew Feustel (right) look on. (Photo by Bill Ingalls for NASA) — at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.