Where Was The Martian Filmed? Matt Damon’s Brilliant Sci-Fi Flick From 2015!!

Do you enjoy watching science-fiction films? If you do, then you’ll be amazed to read this article, where I discuss the blockbuster sci-fi flick, The Martian, starring none other than Matt Damon. Furthermore, I’ll also let you in on where was The Martian filmed.

The American adventure-drama flick, The Martian, released in 2015 was inspired by a famous novel by Andy Weir, published 4 years prior to the film. Celebrated director of Hollywood, Ridley Scott, also pitched in as a co-producer in this project and helped to make it a massive success. The basic premise of the movie covers the space journey of an astronaut, who gets abandoned on the red planet. The plot thickens, when Mark finds a way to survive the deadly atmosphere of Mars, and somehow tries to make it back to Earth, all by himself.

The Martian performed fantastically well at the box office, earning over $630 million in global collections against the production budget of $107 million. This adventure-drama film went on to become hugely popular amongst fans and critics for its high-flying visuals and exciting storyline. The Martian received over 200 nominations, including 7 at the Oscars, and won 40 coveted film awards in total.

So before I let you in on the basic premise of this exciting film, let’s discuss where was The Martian filmed. So that you can take a closer look at the beautiful filming locations. 

Where Was The Martian Filmed? Let’s Know This Sci-fi Flick Closely!

Ridley Scott has always been regarded as one of the best directors in Hollywood. Clearly, much of it has to do with the amount of popularity and success his past films like Black Hawk Down, Aliens, and Blade Runner (1987) have achieved. Thus, Ridley utilized the same expertise of making captivating sci-fi films, while working on this project.

So, after perfecting the screenplay and deciding on the cast for The Martian, Scott spent a considerable amount of time scouting for the perfect filming locations which could portray the barren backdrop of Mars. Initially, the production unit decided to shoot the entire film in and around the desert of Namibia, but the international shooting location was later changed to Hungary, for financial reasons.

Important to mention that, the majority of the sequences which portrayed the backdrop of the red planet were filmed, with the help of CGI and VFX for obvious reasons. The remaining outdoor shots were filmed in some parts of Hungary, while the scenes of NASA were captured in Texas and California. The principal photography began towards the end of November 2014 and was completed in more or less 4 months. So without waiting any longer, let’s discuss in-depth, where was The Martian filmed, and find out more about the specific shooting sites.

Texas, California | USA

The opening scene of the film, where we see the lead character entering the NASA headquarters, was actually filmed in Houston, Texas. The Johnson Space Centre located a few miles from the downtown area of Houston was used to film this scene. The production members then moved to California, to shoot the remaining sequences.

Other major interior sequences, such as the interior scenes of the spacecraft and the space station on Mars, were all filmed inside a well-equipped studio located in Los Angeles, California. The scenes of the Satellite Communication Centre shown in the film, however, were not filmed inside the same studio. The production members instead traveled to the city of Pasadena, located in the northeastern part of downtown Los Angeles, and captured the scenes. Specifically, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory located at 4800 Oak Grove Park Way, was used.

The production members then traveled overseas, to the beautiful country of Hungary and captured the remaining outdoor scenes.

Budapest, Hungary

In order to portray the interior area of NASA, the production members surprisingly used a futuristic shopping mall, located at the heart of Budapest in Hungary. After arranging the filming permission, the crew members extensively filmed inside the “Budapest Whale” Mall for two weeks. Other major scenes of NASA were filmed in Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, after which the production members moved to Etyek in Hungary and filmed the scenes of Mars inside Korda Studios. Filming lasted for nearly two months in Hungary, the crew then returned to America and began working on the post-production.

So, if you’re planning to spend your holidays in the central-European country of Hungary, then you can certainly look into Lake Balaton, Pecs, Eger, Debrecen, Szeged and Szentendre which are some of the best places in Hungary.

Ok guys, now allow me to discuss the plot of The Martian in brief. So that you can get a fair idea about the actual storyline of this film. Meanwhile, you can also check out Snow Day, Ramy and Nebraska which I’d personally recommend for you to watch.

Plot Of The Martian | What’s It About

The story of The Martian is centered around the character of Mark Watney, a daring American astronaut, who is sent on a special space mission to Mars. At the very beginning of the film, Mark along with some other astronauts are shown to find themselves in the middle of a solar storm after landing on Mars.

Later in the film, the officials of NASA appear to believe that the astronauts sent on the awaited space mission are dead. The solar storm severely damages the signaling machine mounted on the spacecraft, causing Mark and his space crew to stay disconnected from the base. The male lead then somehow manages to survive with the depleting resources on Mars. Watch The Martian to find out how Mark eventually makes it back to Earth and shares his story of ultimate survival.

Final Words

Alright dear friends, now that you know where was The Martian filmed, I hope you enjoyed the read and found what you were looking for. Do let us know about your thoughts in the comments section below if you’d want us to add/change anything. And don’t forget to check out other amazing articles on Viebly.