Project Hail Mary - 03/19/26

Following the success of the 2015 movie adaptation of Andy Weir's novel The Martian, starring Matt Damon, it's now time for another Weir book adaptation, Project Hail Mary.

This sci-fi comedy, directed by 21 Jump Street's Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, stars Ryan Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace, who is awakened from an induced coma on the Hail Mary spacecraft.

He can't remember how he ended up on the ship, but his two crew members are dead, and as the lone survivor, the fate of Earth now rests squarely on his shoulders. So the science officer must learn how to become a pilot and engineer, and fly the Hail Mary to the Tau Ceti system to collect samples.

Thankfully, Dr. Grace is not alone for long. He befriends a spider-shaped rock alien who is also travelling to Tau Ceti in its own spaceship for the same reason. Just like Earth, the stars on planet Erid are dimming and slowly dying. Together, Grace and Rocky get over the language barrier and work together to save their respective homes.

Just like Weir's novel, this current story is peppered with flashbacks to explain how a high school science teacher ended up on the Hail Mary in the first place.

Grace is invited to join a task force led by Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller), thanks to one of his papers as a molecular biologist, and he helps them learn more about the "astrophage", or the organisms dimming and killing off stars. They decide to go on a research mission to Tau Ceti to learn why it's the only system unaffected by the astrophage.

This sounds like it could be a science-heavy movie that's complicated to understand. But, just like The Martian, which was also adapted by Drew Goddard, it is presented in an easily digestible way, and it's much more light-hearted than you might expect, given the stakes of Grace's mission.

In fact, Project Hail Mary is really funny. Lord and Miller, who are best known for their comedy work, have created a film that is laugh-out-loud hilarious one moment and heartfelt and moving the next. They nail the tricky tonal balance and try to throw in comic relief wherever possible, even when the story becomes more intense in the second half.

It doesn't really matter if you follow the science or not, because the heart and soul of the film is Grace and Rocky's evolving friendship. You would never expect to become invested in this weird rock creature, but thanks to James Ortiz's voice and puppetry work as Rocky and Gosling's convincing bond with it, you will end up loving Rocky and this beautiful friendship.

In addition to believably creating a wonderful partnership with a puppet, Gosling is perfect for Grace because he is so brilliant at switching between silly comedy and emotional beats, sometimes within the same scene.

Project Hail Mary is a spectacular cinematic spectacle and the first great blockbuster of 2026. The bar has been set for the rest of the year!

In cinemas from Thursday 19th March

By Hannah Wales