Author Andy Weir Will Write A Project Hail Mary Sequel Under One Condition [Exclusive]

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Is author Andy Weir ever going to write a sequel to "Project Hail Mary?" That remains to be seen, but he's not opposed to it. Weir just has one very important condition to make it a reality.

With Ryan Gosling in the lead role, the film adaptation of "Project Hail Mary" made enough money at the box office to justify a sequel, pulling in $684 million worldwide. It's also undoubtedly going to be in the awards season conversation. Both Weir's publishing agents and the folks at Amazon MGM Studios would probably love to pull the trigger on a follow-up.

Speaking recently with /Film's Jeremy Mathai, Weir addressed the possibility of a sequel to his 2021 novel, which went on to inspire this year's blockbuster movie. For Weir, it all comes down to having an idea worthy enough. Anything less and he's content to just leave it alone. Here's what he had to say about it:

"I would be happy to do a sequel for 'Project Hail Mary' if I got a good idea for one, and I feel like I've had some okay ideas, but not a real good one. I'd rather do no sequel at all than have one that's middling. I'm not going to try to force it, either. I'm not going to go, like, 'I've got to get a sequel idea because in a few years, maybe Ryan won't want to do another movie like this. I've got to get on it.' No. If I come up with a cool idea for a sequel, then I'll workshop it. I'll write it. I'll do all that."

The ending of "Project Hail May" reveals what happens to Grace and Rocky. It's a complete ending, one that doesn't necessitate a sequel. That's where the idea of a follow-up gets tricky.

Both the book and movie focus on Ryland Grace, a science teacher, who wakes up in space having no recollection how he got there. He comes to discover that he must solve a complex problem that is causing the Earth's sun to die out. If he fails, humanity perishes. "Project Hail Mary" makes some changes from the original book, but it's largely very faithful.

That said, a sequel is a difficult prospect because the "Project Hail Mary" movie changes the books' perfect ending (in a good way). As the man behind the book, Andy Weir would surely stay loyal to his text rather than the movie. So, if he were to write a sequel and Amazon decides they want to adapt it, they would have to contend with Weir jumping off from his ending rather than the movie's ending. But that's a relatively small issue that could surely be worked out.

For the time being, it doesn't seem like this is something anyone needs to worry about anytime soon. Weir further confirmed to /Film that, "Right now, the book I'm working on now is another standalone novel, not a sequel to anything." Weir's next book may tackle the hot button topic of artificial intelligence, but that has yet to be confirmed. For the most part, what he's working on is a great mystery.

You can grab "Project Hail Mary" on 4K, Blu-ray, or DVD from Amazon.