Inside ‘Project Hail Mary’: Ryan Gosling Meets His Alien Match

Amazon MGM Studios has dropped a new trailer for Project Hail Mary, the upcoming adaptation of Andy Weir’s bestselling novel. Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut who wakes up on a spacecraft with no idea who he is or what he’s supposed to be doing. His memory loss is only the start of the problem. Humanity’s survival depends on him solving a cosmic threat — and, apparently, making friends with a fist-bumping alien.

Here’s the first trailer.

According to the studio, “Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) 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… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.”

This second trailer digs deeper into that unusual friendship. “I’m Grace,” Gosling says in the clip, introducing himself to a curious, rock-like alien. “I’m gonna call you Rocky.” The two characters — one human scientist, one alien engineer — form an uneasy partnership to save both of their worlds. If that sounds like an unlikely buddy flick in outer space, well, that’s the charm.

The promotion for Project Hail Mary has been massive. The first trailer racked up over 400 million views in a week, breaking Amazon MGM’s records for an original film. It’s now the studio’s biggest trailer launch ever. Weir, who also produced the movie, gave his approval, saying the adaptation is “really good” and that he “couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.”

Readers of Weir’s 2021 book already know about Rocky and the film’s major plot turns, but newcomers are still in for surprises. Weir told Polygon that the decision to reveal the alien early was intentional. “It’s really more a marketing decision by Amazon MGM,” he said. “The idea was no one’s going to walk into that theater and not know about Rocky. This is not a Darth Vader is Luke’s father kind of situation.” In other words, the film’s focus is on the ride, not the reveal.

Here’s the most recent trailer, which leans into the big twist:

Project Hail Mary hits theaters on March 20, 2026, with Phil Lord and Chris Miller directing and Drew Goddard writing the screenplay. The trio previously turned The Martian into a major success with Matt Damon. Gosling, coming off sci-fi roles in Blade Runner 2049 and First Man, returns to the genre before heading to the Star Wars galaxy in 2027.

When the project was announced, MGM’s Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy called it a “literal dream team,” praising the filmmakers’ balance of “drama, action, and humor.” Producer Amy Pascal agreed, calling Lord and Miller “the best of the best in their fields.” Soon audiences will know if that praise holds up when Gosling takes his interstellar show on the road — or rather, light-years from it.

****