We've Seen 30 Minutes Of Project Hail Mary, And It Could Be 2026's Best Sci-Fi Movie

If you've heard of "Project Hail Mary," chances are you fall into one of two camps. One is made up of folks excited to see Ryan Gosling get up to shenanigans in deep space, directed by the duo behind the "Jump Street" and "Spider-Verse" movies, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The other includes fans of author Andy Weir's source novel of the same name from 2021, a book that became so popular that it not only topped several bestseller lists, but it also made the personal recommendations lists of Bill Gates and Barack Obama. Fans of the book are particularly opinionated about the film adaptation, with some insisting that a key element of the story should've been eliminated from the marketing campaign altogether.

As one can see from the film's newest trailer, this element in question is the presence of an alien companion, Rocky, who joins Dr. Ryland Grace (Gosling) on his quest to find a way to stop the galaxy's stars from dying. To be fair, there already is a good deal of plot and intrigue to the story which wouldn't necessarily require revealing Rocky early: Dr. Grace isn't an astronaut, but a middle school teacher recruited from obscurity by Eva Stratt (Sandra Hüller) to take a one-way journey to the Tau Ceti solar system on a desperate mission only he has the knowledge to complete. 

Yet, as Lord and Miller explained during an exclusive preview event this past week at IMAX HQ in Los Angeles, there's much more to the story and the film than Rocky's reveal. After seeing 30 minutes of "Project Hail Mary," allow me to assure you that there are lots more surprises the film has in store, including the possibility that this movie may be the best sci-fi film of 2026.

On the surface, "Project Hail Mary" feels akin to many other sci-fi movies. There are echoes of the classics like "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Interstellar," as well as more offbeat examples like "Outland," "Ad Astra," and "Mickey 17." Then, of course, there's Ridley Scott's film version of "The Martian," another movie about a stranded man in space based on a book by Andy Weir with a script by Drew Goddard. What's remarkable about the footage I saw from "Project Hail Mary" is that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's movie doesn't feel like a lazy rehash of any of them. This can be chalked up to the exquisitely unique tone the duo can create, as seen in all their previous films. Whether they be working in live action or animation, Lord and Miller have a knack for capturing effervescence and putting it on screen. This is distinct from irreverence, to be clear; the directors aren't being arch or making fun. Rather, they're embracing the story and character's emotions in a totally open, wholesome way.

It's for this reason that the film looks and feels separate from the more typical, cynical, and sterile approach to sci-fi fare. Not only is Ryan Gosling a great fit for this tone, but so is James Ortiz, who portrays Rocky in conjunction with the creature's on-set puppeteers and post-production CGI animators. The chemistry between Grace and Rocky is delightful right from the jump, and it's a great example of what Lord and Miller meant when they explained to us that they love to see movies where characters get along with each other. This isn't merely "feel good" vibes; the tone is so fun that it actually makes the film addictive to watch.

In addition to the actors and their characters being just so dang fun to watch, it seems that "Project Hail Mary" will be a veritable feast for the eyes, too: the film's cinematographer is none other than Greig Fraser. Having recently shot both "Dune" movies directed by Denis Villeneuve, Gareth Edwards' "The Creator" and Matt Reeves' "The Batman," "Project Hail Mary" sees Fraser turning his lens toward classical, hard sci-fi, and the results are already wondrous. 

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller explained to those of us at the preview event that all of the material seen in flashbacks set on Earth will be presented in 2.39:1 widescreen format, while all of the present day scenes set in space (which apparently is 3/4 of the whole film) will be shown in the full IMAX ratio of 1.43:1. I saw ample examples of both aspect ratios, and they work as intended very well. The IMAX scenes in particular seem to be using the format to its fullest, giving me a little bit of vertigo when it comes to their scale and detail.

In addition to this, Lord and Miller revealed that the current plan is to strike some actual film prints to be projected in IMAX. This means that "Project Hail Mary" is very likely the next big ticket IMAX release, in the tradition of recent "must see in IMAX" films like "Sinners" and "One Battle After Another" (and in advance of Christopher Nolan's all-IMAX "The Odyssey" this summer). After seeing this footage, I found myself rabid to see the rest of the film in much the same manner as fans of the book are. Fortunately, we only have to wait until March 20th to take the full journey.