A school teacher wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he soon discovers he must solve the riddle behind a mysterious substance that’s causing the sun to die out. A film by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub.

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi adventure based on Andy Weir’s 2021 novel. Adapted for the screen by Drew Goddard, the story follows a man who awakens on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or how he got there.

Andy Weir’s 2021 hard sci-fi novel Project Hail Mary debuted at #3 on the New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction bestseller list, spent nine weeks there initially (reappearing at #2 in July 2025 and totaling 28 weeks), topped the Audio Fiction list for three weeks in 2022, and led the Locus Hardcover Bestsellers for five months. Reviews from outlets like Kirkus (starred), The New York Times, and Locus praised its engaging plot, humor, rigorous science, and themes of friendship. The book won the 2021 Dragon and Goodreads Choice Awards for Best Sci-Fi, 2022 Audie Awards for Audiobook of the Year and Science Fiction, and the Seiun Award, with Hugo and other finalist nods; endorsements from Bill Gates and Barack Obama added to its buzz.

The narrative unfolds much like Roland Emmerich’s 1994 film STARGATE; while presented out of chronological order, the core setup is strikingly similar.

Dr. Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is a disgraced molecular biologist who was ridiculed by the scientific community for theorizing that water is not a requirement for life. He is given a chance at redemption by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), a high-ranking government official, who recruits him to examine alien matter extracted from the “Petrova line,” an infrared band forming between the Sun and Venus.

Scientists have determined that whatever is in the Petrova line is slowly eating away at the sun, causing it to dim. Upon inspecting the sample, Grace discovers it is actually a microorganism. Stratt tells him they have named it “Astrophage.” Ironically, it is composed entirely of hydrogen and oxygen, countering his own theory about waterless life in space.

Grace eventually figures out how Astrophage functions and how to replicate it. However, when forced to present his findings to a room full of the world’s leading scientists, he realizes how much he has been kept in the dark due to his lack of security clearance. Stratt promptly grants him the highest level of clearance for the project (just as Major General W. O. West grants clearance to Dr. Daniel Jackson in STARGATE).

He learns that Project Hail Mary requires two million Astrophage to fuel a ship traveling to Tau Ceti, the only star in the known galaxy uninfected by the Petrova line, to discover what makes it immune. Because the ship cannot carry enough fuel for a return journey to Earth, it is strictly a one-way trip. The team will send their findings back via small probes, while the crew will be left behind with the right to choose how they die.

🅟

@pradt

PROJECT HAIL MARY 🚀
Humanity’s last hope.
—
A film by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, starring Ryan Gosling, Sandra Hüller, James Ortiz, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub.

The movie ultimately feels like a Disney or Pixar film. Even though the stakes are massive, the threat of extinction never really feels urgent. The story lacks a traditional villain or any threat of sabotage. There are no real plot twists until the final act reveals that Grace was forced onto the ship against his will.

Sandra Hüller absolutely deserves more screen time. Her dark, deadpan delivery is hilarious. She easily outshines both Gosling and the rock alien. It is thoroughly entertaining to wait and see what she will say next every time she is on screen. If they ever remake STARGATE, she is the perfect choice for Dr. Catherine Langford.

PROJECT HAIL MARY premiered in London on 9 March 2026. The film is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States on 20 March.

Sandra Hüller Brings Sign of the Times to Project Hail Mary
Based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary centers on a last-ditch mission to save Earth’s dimming sun from an alien microbe called Astrophage. During an emotional scene in the lead-up to mission’s launch, everyone involved, including biologist Ryland Grace (Gosling) and project head Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller), gathers for karaoke. In the scene, the usually business-focused Stratt takes center stage to perform an almost elegiac take on “Sign of the Times.” It’s screenwriter Drew Goddard’s favorite scene in the film, although he claims no credit for the Styles song choice. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller suggested karaoke for the scene, and, Goddard recalled, just a few nights before shooting, they decided to try to get Hüller to sing in the film. “She said, ‘I’ll only do it if I can do the Harry Styles song,'” Goddard said. “So it was Sandra’s choice, which is insane to think about, because it lines up so perfectly with the point of the movie. It actually says ‘breaking through the atmosphere,’ for God’s sake. I could not have chosen a better song. That’s all Sandra. She picked it, and thank God she did.”