Ryan Gosling is about to wake up in space with no memory, make a new alien friend, and maybe save all of us. And if you believe the early buzz, his new sci-fi epic might already have its first superfan.
What Project Hail Mary is actually about
The movie hits theaters on March 20. Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a former scientist who comes to on a spaceship with zero recollection of how he got there or what he is supposed to do. Then he meets Rocky, an alien with his own motives and skill set. The two end up partnering on a last-ditch mission with Earth on the line. It is based on Andy Weir's novel, and it lands a year before Gosling jumps into a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: Starfighter.
Josh Gad is all caps about it
A month out from release, Josh Gad hopped on Instagram to call the film a full-on event. His words, not mine:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the first masterpiece of 2026."
He also raved that the team pulled off what he thought was impossible: a genuinely faithful adaptation of Weir's book, and he pushed people to see it on the biggest screen they can find. According to Gad, "Ryan Gosling has never been better," and the whole thing "will restore your faith in humanity and the power of love and courage."
Weir gave it a thumbs up early
Authors rarely bad-mouth their own adaptations before release, sure, but Weir has been unusually enthusiastic. Last summer, after seeing cuts, he went beyond polite approval:
"I couldn't be happier with how things turned out."
He also mentioned the team waited several months for screenwriter Drew Goddard to wrap another project before diving in, which is the kind of slow-burn decision that typically pays off.
Who is making it
- Co-directors: Phil Lord and Chris Miller
- Screenwriter: Drew Goddard
- Producers: Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, Rachel O'Connor
- Studio: Amazon MGM Studios
The runtime debate (because of course)
The movie runs 2 hours and 36 minutes. Fans of the book have largely cheered that length, arguing it gives the story room to breathe without hacking out major pieces. Other moviegoers are pushing back, calling once again for the normalization of the 1 hour, 45 minute movie. For what it is worth, Hollywood has been stretching epics past the two-and-a-half-hour mark since, well, epics existed. Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music, Giant, and Lawrence of Arabia all took their time for a reason.
Where this lands
Between Gad's caps-lock endorsement, Weir's confidence, and a creative team with a track record for threading needles nobody else wants to touch, Project Hail Mary is walking into theaters with serious expectations. If the adaptation really keeps most of the book's meat on the bone and sticks the landing, that 156 minutes might feel like exactly the right call.