Comic-Con’s largest venue, Hall H, buzzed with excitement as Ryan Gosling, sporting a trucker hat and flannel shirt, greeted over 6,000 fans during a panel for the upcoming film Project: Hail Mary. The movie promises a mix of space adventure, genuine science, broad humor, and emotional depth.
Amazon MGM Studios treated the audience to the first five minutes of the film along with several unfinished scenes from the early portion of the story, which is set to release in seven months.
One highlight was an extended look at Rocky, a faceless, stone-like alien who partners with Gosling’s character in a mission to save the universe from ecological collapse. Phil Lord, who co-directed the movie with Chris Miller, emphasized that the friendship between these two unlikely companions in space forms the heart of the film. Miller humorously asked, “If the universe depended on it, can adult men make friends?”
Rocky, already beloved by fans of Andy Weir’s novel, is expected to become a popular figure at future Comic-Cons and cosplay events. When asked how Rocky ranks among his iconic on-screen partnerships, Gosling playfully declined to answer, saying it was too early to tell. Weir joked, “From Emma Stone, to person of stone.”
The screenplay was adapted by Drew Goddard, who previously penned The Martian (2015), based on Weir’s debut novel. Gosling revealed he was immediately drawn to the project after reading the manuscript, praising Weir as “the greatest sci-fi mind of our time.” He described the story as both heartbreaking and hilarious, taking him to places he had never imagined.
Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher and self-described underachiever unexpectedly recruited for the mission. “I connect to his reluctance,” Gosling said. “Aside from his doctorate in molecular biology, he’s an ordinary guy reacting with appropriate terror to what he’s facing.”
The opening scene features a disheveled, amnesiac Gosling waking in a space pod, confused and alone, with dead bodies in nearby pods. Upon realizing he’s in space, he lets out a humorous cry, “Where am I?!”
After the screening, Gosling joked that he looked like a “space caveman” wearing a “placenta onesie.”
This film marks Lord and Miller’s return to directing and to the sci-fi genre after being replaced on Solo (2018) by Ron Howard. Like The Martian, Project: Hail Mary dives deep into scientific detail. Weir, serving as producer, meticulously reviewed every equation on a whiteboard.
Yet, true to Lord and Miller’s style, the movie blends serious science with a wild, comedic energy reminiscent of their work on The Lego Movie. “This movie is not a Mac, it’s a PC,” Lord joked. “It can be beautiful, it just can’t be pretty.”
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