Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary: Directors Reveal Exactly How Much Is VFX

Project Hail Mary is shaping up to be a big, shiny sci-fi movie that somehow also feels tactile and handmade. Phil Lord and Chris Miller say they went old-school in ways I did not expect for a space epic headlined by Ryan Gosling. Short version: they built the thing. A lot of it.

No green or blue screens. At all.

Chris Miller did not mince words:

"There is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used."

Instead of planting actors in front of colored backdrops, the crew leaned hard on built environments and physical elements. The result should feel less like actors imagining a spaceship and more like actors actually standing in one.

Spaceship, but make it real

The team constructed the ship interior as a full set and even built a massive chunk of the exterior. That meant performers and camera operators could move through real corridors, interact with real surfaces, and light it like an actual place, not a digital guess.

The Rocky factor

Lord pointed to one character as the big swing: "I think the singular achievement has to be Rocky."

Rocky did not start as pixels. The character went from early design to physical models that were 3D printed and hand-painted. Only after they captured that practical presence on set did visual effects artists and animators from multiple teams step in to extend and refine the performance. And yes, Rocky was there on the day.

As Miller put it: "Rocky was really with us at all times."

That approach pairs nicely with the lighting strategy. Cinematographer Greig Fraser and his team used practical lighting so the camera could roam freely and catch honest, in-the-moment reactions between Rocky and Gosling as Ryland Grace. It is a flex, and a smart one.

• No green or blue screens used anywhere, by design
• Full interior of the ship built as a walkable set, plus a large exterior section
• Rocky developed physically first, then augmented by CG across multiple departments
• Practical lighting by Greig Fraser enabled fluid camera work and real-time actor interaction
• Digital effects still critical, especially to expand and polish Rocky’s performance

So how much is VFX?

Plenty. The no-green-screen thing is a headline, not a vow of digital celibacy. Lord specifically praised the VFX teams for what they added once the practical foundation was in place, particularly in pushing Rocky beyond what a physical build can do on its own. The mix is the point.

Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, hits theaters March 20.