STACK #262 August 2026

MOVIE FEATURE

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HAIL YEAH! I f it sometimes feels like the whole world is obsessed with Ryan Gosling then, in Project Hail Mary , they actually are. “Every culture on Earth, every society, every nation, has put GENRE: Sci-fi adventure RUN TIME: 2h 36m Ryan Gosling, an unlikely alien ally, and a race against extinction. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller explain how they transformed Andy Weir's bestselling novel Project Hail Mary into a thrilling sci-fi adventure filled with science, humour, and heart.

their chips on this one dude, and we wanted to always feel that every time we were watching the picture,” says director Phil Lord, who teams with Chris Miller for one of the year's most anticipated sci-fi adventures. Based on Andy Weir’s ( The Martian ) bestselling novel, Project Hail Mary follows middle-school science teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling), who wakes aboard a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he’s there. As his memories return, he discovers he’s humanity’s last hope. A mysterious organism is draining the sun’s energy, threatening Earth with extinction unless Grace can solve the mystery before it’s too late. Like The Martian , the story leans heavily on real science, with Grace constantly solving problems through experimentation, physics, and quick thinking. But beneath the technical challenges lies a surprisingly emotional story about an ordinary man rising to an extraordinary challenge. For Lord and Miller, whose credits include The LEGO Movie and Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse , authenticity was crucial. “We had several NASA and JPL consultants who were super helpful for us in development and while we were shooting,” recalls Miller. “When they came to the set, we were like, ‘You guys are the first people to get what it feels like to be in Zero G for the first time, and how stomach inducing and clumsy it is.’” That realism also extended to Gosling’s performance. “It was really important to Ryan. He wanted to not be good at everything,” says Lord. “He's

Top and right: Ryan Gosling

Below: Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Fans of the novel are especially eager to meet Rocky, an alien traveller also searching for a way to stop the mysterious solar infestation affecting countless stars. Although Rocky resembles a giant rock spider, his evolving friendship with Grace becomes the emotional heart of the film, turning the story into an unexpected buddy adventure. For Miller, that blend of tones is

surprised his directors. “Ryan is boundlessly creative. He does something different on every take,” says Lord. “He's really funny, he's really sweet, he's really strong, he can be really brave. “He plays engagement really well, so we wanted to make sure the movie gave him opportunities to show all of those moves. He was surprising us constantly because he was doing things that were spontaneous. That's the main thing when you're shooting – can I please have one moment happen today that I didn't expect? And with Ryan, that's just how the guy works.” With its combination of hard science, humour, suspense, and an unforgettable

exactly what makes Project Hail Mary unique. “It's a genre-defier because it's thrilling, it's dramatic, it's emotional, it's funny, and it's all of those things,” he says. “It's fun, but you'll hopefully cry a few times.” At the centre of it all is Gosling, whose performance continually

like, ‘I'm a microbial scientist. I'm good at that. But I'm bad at space.’ That's why he's figuring out a system of ropes to move around.” The filmmakers also resisted creating the kind of spotless spacecraft audiences have come to expect. “We didn't want it to feel like an Apple Store. We always say this movie is not a Mac, it's a PC. Take it apart,” says Lord. “Anytime there was something messy in the frame, we left it.”

friendship, Project Hail Mary looks set to follow The Martian as another crowd-pleasing adaptation of Andy Weir’s work. Only this time, humanity’s fate rests on a reluctant science teacher, an unlikely alien ally, and one very long trip through the stars. Gill Pringle

• Project Hail Mary is out Aug 19

IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU’LL LOVE THESE:

The Martian, 2001: A Space Odyssey, First Man, Ad Astra, Passengers, Gravity

AUGUST 2026

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