When you've got a runaway hit like The Martian on your hands, the home video release can serve as a perfect opportunity to double your money. Enter the "Extended Edition" strategy, which in the case of Ridley Scott's resume is a fairly common occurrence. In the case of The Martian, around 10 minutes of footage was reinstated into the film. In addition to the footage that was included, there's two deleted scenes that were never even put back into the film!
No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, there are actually some smaller shots and lines inserted into the film throughout, which actually help round the experience out without sacrificing the film's total package. True, these sequences aren't essential, and the pacing of the theatrical cut is preferential. However, if you want a new experience, or are such a fan of The Martian that you'd like to see what might have been, then prepare to read about the nine moments that were restored, and the two that weren't, in The Martian: Extended Edition Blu-ray. Please note that all scenes that were inserted into the Extended Edition have time codes that denote the point in the film at which they occur.
Good Morning Mars - 19:32
In the first bit of footage restored to The Martian, we see Watney wake up on one of the early days of his solitude, still gimping around after his incident. After rising and shining one morning, we still see that Mark isn't quite back to full speed just yet. This moment happens right before his inventory of the kitchen, and it's not exactly essential as we get to Mark formulating his rationing / potato farming plan that much quicker. It's small, and isn't comprised of a lot of footage, so we didn't miss too much by losing this scene.
Martian Cartography / Mark Starts To Doze - 36:42
This one's another short take. While doing his first round of experiments with the Mars rovers, Mark starts to fall asleep at the wheel. He wakes up, and addresses to his video logs about how this almost happened, and the sequence picks up as originally shown. Again, this is a moment where it's a bit superfluous, and only really serves to pad out Mark Watney's process when it comes to this sort of mundane task. Additionally, there's some footage before this moment where we see more of Mark's course charting on his map of Mars.
Annie's Rant To Vincent - 40:26
Now here's where things start to pick up with The Martian: Extended Edition, as we get an entire swath of dialogue from Kristen Wiig's Annie Montrose that we didn't see in the film. Right after Vincent gives his infamous "bring him home alive" press conference, instead of just cutting to Teddy telling him not to say things like that on live TV, we see Annie chastise Vincent for doing just that. She then proceeds to talk about how she needs this job, as she's paying alimony to "two deadbeat ex-husbands," and that gender equality bit her square in the ass. This scene was worth restoring, as we get to see more of Wiig's trademark humor, and it makes Teddy's reinforcement all the more satisfying
Mark Watney's Blunt Response - 58:06
During the first sequence in The Martian where Mark and the Pathfinder team start to communicate, there are a couple of moments added back in. For starters, the snarky JPL tech gets some more words in edgewise. More importantly though, when Mark finds out he's live on TV, and his crew doesn't know he's alive, Watney deploys a colorful insult towards his superiors. We see both Benedict Wong's Bruce and Sean Bean's Mitch Henderson react to said insult, as Watney apparently called them all "bureaucratic felchers." It may not be a huge moment, but it's a good character moment that generates laughs between Earth and Mars' communications. Also, take Sean Bean's advice, and don't Google that term.
Mark's Repairs To The Hab - 01:13:37
After pressurizing his potato farm, courtesy of the thick plastic and duct tape Mark sealed the Hab breach with, there's a moment of silence where Mark finds some holes in the plastic. Using smoke, science, and duct tape, Watney repairs some breaches in his sealing. This is definitely a scene where there's no big payoff to _The Martian's _story overall, except seeing Mark Watney proceeding to science the shit out of his recently wrecked potato farm.
Satellite Adjustments At JPL - 01:18:36
This scene gives us a little more of Donald Glover's Rich Purnell, as it shows us a little more about how his plan takes shape. After his initial appearance, where we see his supervisor at JPL ask for coordinates for satellite adjustments, we see that he didn't deliver those coordinates as promised. Instead, Rich demands supercomputer time, as he's intensely studying the positioning of Earth and Mars, in hopes of guiding the Hermes in its slingshot around the Earth. We get more of a background character's story, and if there's any reason to keep this scene in, it's so that Rich's ultimate plan makes more sense to those who watching the film.
Watney Finishes The Mission - 01:30:02
How big of a boy scout is Mark Watney? Well, let's put it this way: in a deleted scene, Watney is learned to have been continuing to dig Martian samples & conduct analysis. This actually leads to a deleted scene that we previously covered as excised from the film, which is the infamous"Chem Cam" scene that comes from this. Adding this scene back into the mix shows Watney's dedication to science, and gives him some more time to crack wise to the camera about "das core samples."
Mark Watney's Martian Camping Trip - 01:53:35
Yet another small, but reflective, moment see Mark inflate a tent from the Ares IV supply drop in order to have a meal and a silent moment. During said moment, we get to see Mark's scared body again, followed by his burying of a thoughtful note to apologize to the Ares IV mission for using their supplies. It's another smaller segment that could have dragged on if they weren't careful, and at this point in the film the momentum of Watney's rescue is growing at such a rate that stopping for a picnic derails the home stretch of the picture.
The Many Deaths Of Mark Watney - 01:59:36
Before arriving in Mars orbit for the pulse pounding finale of The Martian, Jessica Chastain's Commander Lewis starts out by asking Michael Pena's Martinez about how many times he killed Mark in the simulator. This comes right before the last supper moment of sorts, where the crew goes over their big plan to rescue Mark by engineering a rendezvous between the Ares IV MAV unit and the Hermes. You could blink and miss the moment entirely, as it doesn't take up too much space in the grand scheme of things, and it does nothing in the long run, bringing us to the end of the restored footage portion of our report. Next, let's take a look at the two scenes that were deleted, but never used in the film's extended version.
Hermes Crew Discuss Sleeping Arrangements
Fans of The Martian's book form will love our first deleted scene, as Sebastan Stan's Beck and Kate Mara's Johannsen were finally revealed as being a couple. This is all thanks to Commander Lewis' re-assignment of sleeping arrangements, as Ramirez has been sleeping in Airlock 2 to have privacy / comfort. Michael Pena makes this scene work so well with his reaction to his crewmates' coupling, but again, it's not important.
Mark's Final Moment On The Hermes
The final moment of Mark Watney's space journey in The Martian, just before we see him back on Earth, finds Mark reflecting on the fact that he's back home on his sweet home planet. Linking his last spacebound scene with the first time we see a comfortable looking Watney siting on a park bench, delivering his speech about humanity pulling together that we heard in The Martian's first trailer. This final moment makes for a great contrast with the rest of the film, as well as includes a subtle dig at how expensive saving a Matt Damon character is, while justifying his rescue at the same time.
