Matt Damon may be stranded in space in The Martian, but he’s not alone. In a new clip posted on YouTube by 20th Century Fox on Friday, Donald Glover and Kristen Wiig’s characters, among others, are shown brainstorming a solution to get him back to Earth.
In the sneak peek, Rich Purnell (Glover) is the man with the plan. Using office supplies as visual aids, he explains to the team that he thinks there’s a way they can get a spacecraft already in flight out to Mars, so that stranded astronaut Mark Watney (Damon) can intercept it using another craft. The rescue plan clearly makes sense to Purnell, but his co-workers, including Annie Montrose (Wiig), all seem extremely skeptical.
Purnell’s biggest naysayer looks like it might be the Director of NASA, Teddy Sanders (Jeff Daniels), which is obviously not ideal. In fact, the clip leaves it up in the air whether or not the rest of the team will get onboard with his idea, in spite of his assurances that the math “checks out.” Whatever they ultimately decide to do, at least Watney isn’t being left completely to his own devices.
The latest scene, along with the trailers that we’ve seen so far, have all skillfully mixed light moments into an obviously very dark and dire situation. Damon’s character may be fighting for survival, but there’s still room for humor. Between its big-name cast and what seems like a very clever script, the sci-fi film, directed by Ridley Scott, looks like it’s going to be, well, out of this world. (Sorry.)
Also starring in the film are Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The Martian is an adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel of the same name.
The Martian is set to hit theaters on Oct. 2.
