FILM · 2026 · USA
Project Hail Mary
- Directed by
- Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
- Runtime
- 157 min
- Studio
- Lord Miller, Amazon MGM Studios, Pascal Pictures
30 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
Science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (30)
- #001
In March 2020, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was close to a deal to acquire the adaptation rights to Andy Weir's then-upcoming novel Project Hail Mary, with Ryan Gosling attached to star in and produce the film. The rights were acquired for $3 million.
- #002
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were hired in May 2020 to direct and produce Project Hail Mary. Because their commitments to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) kept them from writing the screenplay, Drew Goddard was brought on the following month to write it.
- #003
Amazon, which acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 2022, indicated in April 2024 that Project Hail Mary could be released in 2026.
- #004
Sandra Hüller joined the cast of Project Hail Mary in May 2024, when Greig Fraser was hired as cinematographer, and Milana Vayntrub joined the cast the following month.
- #005
Principal photography on Project Hail Mary began on June 3, 2024, in the United Kingdom and wrapped on October 26, 2024.
- #006
Project Hail Mary was filmed at Shepperton Studios.
- #007
Location filming for Project Hail Mary took place at The Hemel Hempstead School, the South Parade Pier in Portsmouth, the Mullard Radio Astronomy Observatory in Cambridge, and Durdle Door and Man o' War Cove in Dorset.
- #008
Project Hail Mary was filmed for IMAX using large-sensor Arri Alexa 65 cameras that provide 6.5K (20 MP) of resolution.
- #009
For Project Hail Mary, anamorphic lenses were rotated 90 degrees to use the whole sensor and reach the IMAX standard 1.43:1 aspect ratio.
- #010
Project Hail Mary switches between taller and wider aspect ratios: present-day scenes use 1.43:1 for IMAX 15/70 mm or Dual Laser, 1.85:1 for Xenon or Single Laser, and 2.00:1 for non-IMAX presentations.
- #011
Past scenes in Project Hail Mary were shot at a 2.39:1 aspect ratio, a standard for anamorphic process cinematography, achieved with regular use of anamorphic lenses.
- #012
According to Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary used no chroma keying, with the entire set shot practically.
- #013
Visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert, who had worked with Fraser on the Dune films, shared a disdain for green and blue screens because of color spill affecting lighting and visuals; on Project Hail Mary they used blackouts and grey screens instead.
- #014
Christopher Miller has said that visual effects were used for exterior views of the spaceship in Project Hail Mary, while shots of Ryan Gosling in space were filmed against a black or varying color backdrop.
- #015
NASA backed Project Hail Mary by supplying scientific experts and by sending astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren to visit Ryan Gosling while the film was shooting, where Lindgren shared insights about human spaceflight.
- #016
Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, BUF and Wylie Co. VFX all worked on the visual effects for Project Hail Mary.
- #017
Mags Sarnowska served as visual effects supervisor on Project Hail Mary, working alongside Lambert.
- #018
Puppeteer James Ortiz voiced Rocky during filming of Project Hail Mary alongside Ryan Gosling, and although it was initially expected that a more high-profile actor would take over the role, Lord and Miller concluded that Ortiz's performance could not be improved upon when they watched the film at screenings.
- #019
Phil Lord praised how practical and visual effects were combined to create the performance of Rocky in Project Hail Mary.
- #020
Rocky, the alien character in Project Hail Mary, was designed and built by Neal Scanlan and his creature shop.
- #021
James Ortiz and his team performed Rocky through puppeteering and were present on set with Ryan Gosling in every scene.
- #022
Rocky's performance combined on-set puppetry by James Ortiz and the other Rockyteers with animation work by Framestore, led by Arslan Elver.
- #023
According to Miller, shots featuring Rocky in Project Hail Mary were roughly half VFX animation and half puppetry by the end of the film.
- #024
Project Hail Mary was shot and produced digitally, then transferred to film stock and re-digitized to achieve the warmth of analog film.
- #025
An initial test screening of Project Hail Mary ran 3 hours and 45 minutes, and feedback from the screenings led to the film being cut down to its final length.
- #026
Joel Negron served as film editor on Project Hail Mary.
- #027
Daniel Pemberton was announced at San Diego Comic-Con as the composer for Project Hail Mary.
- #028
Daniel Pemberton had previously worked with Project Hail Mary directors Lord and Miller on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and its 2023 sequel, both of which the pair produced.
- #029
Project Hail Mary marks the first film directed by Lord and Miller that is not scored by Mark Mothersbaugh.
- #030
Project Hail Mary's score, made up of 38 tracks, was released digitally on March 20, 2026.
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- Wikipedia Project Hail Mary (film) — Wikipedia
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