Science fiction is a strange film genre. It is one of the most common genres for crossovers like sci-fi fantasy or sci-fi horror. Arguably, the most common trope across all sci-fi films is the “something is dying, we have to go to space and fix it”. In 1998 we had Armageddon, then again in 2014 with Interstellar and once again this year with Project Hail Mary.
Side-by-side comparison of the original book & film
Photo: wibellion on Reddit – What’s your favourite and Least favourite change from book to film
Based on the best-selling book by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary (2026) is a sci-fi, hard science film that follows Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), a science teacher who wakes up in space with no memory of why or how he’s there. Turns out he is on a desperate space mission to save Earth and the dying sun from microbes called astrophage, making an unlikely friend along the way. It is an honest science fiction film without simply being a sci-fi movie about space. It’s about friendship, figuring things out when nothing seems to be working and taking one ambitious shot when there isn’t much of a backup plan.
A “Hail Mary”, if you will.
Project Hail Mary (2026) is full of themes that are common in most Sci-fi films, but because it is more “realistic” (using somewhat “real” science), most of the themes present in the film are more emotional and human-centred. The emotion comes from the relationship between Grace and his unlikely rock alien friend, whom she suitably names “Rocky”.
Ryland wakes up with no memories, no crew and no team, which we later found out was because he was forced into going on the mission. He battles his own memories, trying to remember who he is, and the film does a great job of putting us in his place, taking us with him from the early stages of the mission planning to his memories of waking up disillusioned on the ship. However, the relationship between Grace and Rocky is the main heart of the film. What starts as two strangers slowly becomes a real friendship built on communication and shared trauma of losing their shipmates. This highlights that two people don’t need to be the same to work well together. Additionally, from this friendship we get the great line from Rocky, “Grace say Grace will die, Rocky fix”.
As well as the emotional storyline, the production of the film is just as impressive. Ryan Gosling had his eyes on making the book-to-movie adaptation and the character of Ryland Grace from when he first read the book in 2021. He even spent a lot of time filming alone on the set of the ship, which the filmmakers constructed with a real interior of the ship, so he had real surfaces to interact with. Sometimes he would only talk with the producers (Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) through an earpiece, in order to stay in the mind frame of the film.
YouTube Video “Making of Project Hail Mary”
Video: STREAM WARS
Rocky is a whole other story. He wasn’t simply CGI; Rocky was mainly controlled by what the director and Gosling called “Rockyteers”, which was a group of five people physically puppeteering Rocky on set. Project Hail Mary could’ve very easily become a CGI-heavy space story. Having a physical Rocky on set allowed Gosling to interact realistically with him, helping to create the warm friendship we see in the film and emotionally attaches the audience to both characters. These practical choices give the relationship between Grace and Rocky a sense of authenticity, making their unlikely friendship feel much more real and human.
The film is a great example of how science fiction films have changed over the years, and how much the film industry has grown creatively in writing and book-to-film adaptations. Comparing a film like this to the 1989 film Armageddon, as I did, there is a vast jump in CGI, characters and storylines.
However, my favourite takeaway from this movie is a TikTok I saw just after watching it: there really is a Ryan Gosling for everyone. Everyone seems to have a crush on him at some point. Maybe you like tap-dancing Gosling in La La Land, the action-hero Gosling from The Fall Guy, or the nerdy, more pathetic science teacher in Project Hail Mary. Whatever your type, there is a Ryan Gosling for everyone.
Ryan Gosling as Dr Ryland Grace in “Project Hail Mary” (2026)
Image: IMDB
Images & Video
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeUyot032b0&pp=ygURcHJvamVjdCBoYWlsIG1hcnk%3D
Images:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12042730
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