FIRST LOOK: Matt Damon Makes Himself at Home on Mars in New Trailer for 'The Martian'

20th Century FOX releases the official trailer for The Martian starring Matt Damon as Astronaut Mark Watney. Also, watch three featurettes and learn more about the ARES 3 crew and mission to Mars.

The Toronto International Film Festival started this week, and there are several movies celebrating their world premiere, including 20th Century FOX’s upcoming space-adventure drama The Martian.

Based on the best-selling novel by Andy Weir, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, The Martian features a star-studded cast that includes Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, Donald Glover, Mackenzie Davis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

The official trailer (below) features Astronaut Mark Watney, the first man to walk on Mars, who is unfortunately left behind. Now his main priority is finding a way to survive until a rescue team can arrive. Check it out:

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return.

Help is only 140 million miles away…

That was AWESOME! I really get a kick out of space exploration stories, and while it’s clear that there will be drama and suspense, there’s also a surprising amount of humor. Matt Damon is pretty hilarious as Astronaut Watney (“I’m going to have to science the shit out of this”), and he’s pretty much a genius too (because he DOES science the shit out of his survival!).

I’m also really excited about how amazing the ensemble cast is in their portrayal of the ARES 3 crew, who are all willing to take huge risks to bring back their teammate.

20th Century FOX also released a featurette that gives us a “declassified” look into ARES 3 crew interviews with NASA psychologists after a training exercise for their journey to Mars. As we’ve seen from the trailer, these folks are FUNNY:

Watch this second featurette, where Neil deGrasse Tyson examines the ARES 3 mission and the dangers of their #JourneyToMars before in a special episode of StarTalk: