20th Century Fox has released a deleted scene from Ridley Scott’s The Martian, and while it’s a fun little clip, it’s easy to see why it didn’t make the final cut.

[Spoilers ahead if you haven’t seen The Martian]

In this clip, Mark Watney goes through everyone’s job, and taken on its own merits, it’s a good scene. It tells us more about how everyone on a NASA mission has to multitask, the complexities of their duties, Watney trying to stay busy, and it maintains the film’s sense of humor (I love the playful dig at Martinez, who’s the pilot). I don’t recall if this scene is in the book, but it makes sense if it would be; even though Watney’s primary goal is to survive, he never gives up on NASA’s scientific mission, and wants to make sure they have as much data as possible.

However, I think they made the right move in cutting it because not only does it turn out that the research is for naught, but it’s too on-the-nose for the ending. It’s fine that Watney ends up teaching a class at the end; we don’t need a scene where he unintentionally predicts that he will one day end up teaching a class.


Check out The Martian deleted scene below via The Playlist.

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