Sure, it’s got big, beautiful spaceships, global stakes, and Ryan Gosling cracking wise, but at its heart, Project Hail Mary is about something greater than all of that. “It’s a movie and a book about collaboration and cooperation and what was possible if we work together,” director Chris Miller said recently.
The “we” in question is Ryland Grace (Gosling), a middle school teacher turned astronaut whom Earth sends to outer space to, hopefully, save us all, and Rocky, an alien made of rock whose planet is also in danger. The creature had largely been kept out of marketing until this week’s Super Bowl trailer, which featured him in full force, but he is the co-star of the film, and their relationship is the crux of the movie.
“It’s a hopeful movie, and this relationship, at its core, these are two beings who could not be more different [but], when they come together, are able to accomplish amazing things,” Miller added. “So that’s what drew us to the book in the first place and drew us to the project. Hopefully, people will leave the movie feeling a sense of optimism about what’s possible.”
That’s certainly how io9 felt last week in Los Angeles, after attending a special event where directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller screened not just the final trailer for the film, but about 30 minutes of additional footage. Over the course of nine scenes that basically took us on an episodic journey through the majority of the film, it became abundantly clear that Project Hail Mary, based on a novel by Andy Weir, could be very, very special. And not just because Lord and Miller revealed that scenes set in space (which is about 3/4 of the runtime) will be released in full, 1.43:1 IMAX, while flashback scenes set on Earth will be a more traditional 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Though that will help.
The scenes began with the film’s opening, which shows Grace waking up in space after being in an induced coma and having no idea where or who he is. From there, several scenes took us on the Earth-bound journey the character takes from an unassuming middle school teacher to astronaut and potential savior, with lots of that trademark Andy Weir science along the way.
Next, we saw multiple scenes showcasing key stages in Grace’s relationship with Rocky, who is voiced by actor and puppeteer James Ortiz. Miller said that early on in casting, he and Lord considered casting a big name to play Rocky, but once they met Ortiz, they knew that would be a mistake. “It became very clear from the moment we started shooting—the things that we were getting, the scenes, the acting—that this was the movie, and he was Rocky. He does an amazing job,” Miller said.
We got to watch the first time Grace and Rocky connect, which happens literally as Rocky’s ship creates a tunnel to connect the ships and Rocky communicates with Grace using a crude model. A second scene, of their second meeting, then showed Grace figure out another model created by Rocky, which forces him to make a big decision. Can he trust this creature from another world with his life?
Finally, we saw scenes the trailer only hints at with Rocky, who eventually communicates in English thanks to a computer program Grace writes, entering Grace’s ship in a bubble that allows him to move around freely. The scenes are high energy and hilarious as the creature’s curiosity about everything human has him rolling around at top speed, commenting on everything in the ship. It felt completely different from everything else we’ve seen from the film, until this new trailer at least. Yet another scene showed Grace doing a Real World-style confessional about how weird this all is, only to have Rocky roast him about it. In the film, Rocky is a mix of on-set puppetry and CGI effects, but all of that humor and energy was captured live on set.
“The two guys have amazing chemistry, and there’s a spontaneity that happens when they’re together,” Lord said. “Even those scenes where you can’t put James and five other puppeteers in a big plastic ball, so there’s some CGI in those things, but James is on set the entire time, doing his dialogue live with an ear rig with Ryan, in a little booth that we built off the set, so that we could capture the dialogue, and everything is something that he did on the day.”
The final scene screened was from later in the movie, after Grace and Rocky have established a very deep friendship. They think they’ve figured out a way to save both their planets, but it’s going to take a very dangerous mission. A Hail Mary on top of a Hail Mary. And as the dramatic, action-packed scene unfolds, you can tell that even with the action and comedy spread throughout, Project Hail Mary is ultimately aiming to make us cry a lot. “The whole movie is a very emotional experience,” Miller said. “Every time someone [sees it,] they’re like, ‘I didn’t realize how emotional it was going to be.’”
Which speaks to a lot of Lord and Miller’s work. From the Jump Street and Lego movies to the Spider-Verse and Cloudy movies, they always seem to key in on emotions and relationships that speak to an audience. “One of the things we’ve learned over the years is that the most spectacular and engaging for an audience to watch people get along,” Lord said. “It’s really fun. It plays big. And it was a shock to me because the first half of my career, everybody was like, ‘Oh, you gotta make sure there’s a lot of conflict.’ There are obstacles, and of course, there are differences of opinion… but I think the thing that’s important to us was to represent a successful partnership.” “People doing their job well is a great genre of a movie, whether it’s Spotlight or Ghostbusters,” Miller added. “And this falls in that category as well.”
So is Project Hail Mary a “people doing their job well movie?” Is it a sci-fi movie? A comedy? A drama? The answer to all of them, and more, is “Yes.”
“It’s a genre defier because it is thrilling, it’s dramatic, it’s emotional, it’s funny, it’s all of those things,” Miller said. Mostly, though, we just hope it’s good. And we have a good feeling that it will be.
Project Hail Mary opens March 20.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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