“If we do nothing, everything on this planet will go extinct,” Eva Stratt, played by Sandra Huller, tells middle school teacher Ryland Grace in the trailer of Project Hail Mary. It’s a lot to put on the shoulders of one person, and Ryan Gosling seems the perfect candidate to play the shaggy yet charismatic astronaut. Based on the book by Andy Weir by the same name, Project Hail Mary is a much-anticipated release of the new year.
Ad Astra: A Middle School Teacher’s Journey to The Stars
Set to release on 20th March, 2026, Project Hail Mary begins with an amnesiac astronaut waking up 11.9 light years away from his apartment, with no idea how he got there, and what he’s supposed to be doing. As his memories resurface, however, he is reminded of his daunting task—to save the Sun from an unknown threat.
What also resurfaces is his reluctance to go on the mission in the first place. Flashbacks reveal that Gosling’s character was hesitant to embark on this space expedition: Ryland Grace struggles to accept that he is the most suitable candidate for the task—he is no astronaut after all, just a humble microbiologist working as a middle school teacher. His superiors are convinced otherwise, and so he is launched into space.
What Makes Project Hail Mary Special
Aside from a star-studded cast including the nation’s heartthrob, Ryan Gosling, and Liz Kingsman, Lionel Boyce, Milana Vayntrub, and Sandra Hüller, Project Hail Mary has filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller of the Spider-verse fame at the helm. With the script written by Drew Goddard, who also wrote the script for the adaptation of The Martian, it seems there is no way the film can go wrong.
It is quickly revealed in the trailer that Rylan Grace is not the only one out to save his planet. He soon runs into an alien life form that is also on a mission to save the sun. “So, I met an alien,” Ryland quips to his diary. “He’s kinda growing on me. At least he’s not growing in me, which was a concern for a little while.” The complete form of the extraterrestrial is not revealed in the trailer, and fans are eager to find out.
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