Project Hail Mary Trailer Reveals How The Movie Adapts A Tricky Aspect Of The Book

If you're already sold on "Project Hail Mary," I would humbly suggest that you go ahead and skip the film's (awesome) new trailer. Weird request for a trailer post, I know, but part of the fun of reading Andy Weir's source material is thinking you're in for "The Martian 2.0," only to discover it's actually something else entirely.

For those just tuning in, "Project Hail Mary," um, hails from directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the duo behind the "Jump Street" movies, "The LEGO Movie," and the version of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" you never saw (but, let's be real, it was probably pretty good, based on these guys' track record.) The trailer also refers to them as the "creators" of the "Spider-Verse" franchise, which feels a little unfair to the many, many other artists and directors responsible for bringing those revolutionary animated "Spider-Man" movies to life. Those same animators have also had to battle incredible amounts of stress and overwork to make those films a reality, so you gotta give them credit where it's due.

Getting back on track, though, Lord and Miller are undeniably talented storytellers. That also makes them the perfect choice to take on "Project Hail Mary," which is essentially what you'd end up with if "Arrival," "Interstellar," and "Lethal Weapon" had a baby. Indeed, as the movie's latest trailer confirms, this is more or less a buddy action-comedy about two beings from different planets having to team up to save their respective worlds. We also now know how the film adaptation is going to handle one of the trickier aspects of Weir's source material: how our heroes are able to communicate.

What would you do if you found yourself far from Earth on a desperate mission to save our little blue dot, and the only individual you could turn to for help spoke in ... musical notes? That's the dilemma our man Ryland Grace (a perfectly cast Ryan Gosling) finds himself in for the majority of "Project Hail Mary," which is where his alien buddy Rocky (James Ortiz) comes into play. This also feels like a good place to mention that, contrary to Rocky's giant arachnid-like appearance, this movie is a far cry from the Adam Sandler-starring "Spaceman" (aka that other recent sci-fi flick about an astronaut far from Earth who befriends a human-sized spider-esque extra-terrestrial).

In the original book, Ryland swiftly becomes fluid in Rocky's melodic intonations (with Rocky picking up on English just as quickly), and the pair are able to chat with one another with nary a problem. Based on the trailer, however, it seems the film version of "Project Hail Mary" will, at the very least, start out with Ryland using a computer screen to speedily translate what Rocky is saying, and vice versa (when the latter isn't putting on "a little puppet show" for the former and his "tiny brain," as Ryland cheekily puts it). Will the movie eventually switch to using subtitles for Rocky instead? I wouldn't put it past screenwriter Drew Goddard, given his clever script work on the Ridley Scott-helmed adaptation of "The Martian."

"Project Hail Mary" flies into theaters on March 20, 2026.