Title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Time: 2 hrs 36 mins
Release Date: Mar 20, 2026
StoryGraph* Moods: Adventurous, Funny, Hopeful
How I Stumbled Upon This Film: I read the book and loved it. Having been eagerly anticipating this movie since it was announced.
Books by this author: Project Hail Mary The Martian, Artemis
*StoryGraph also offers content warnings.
There’s a reason I picked Project Hail Mary as this month’s first Friday recommendation – aside from the fact that I love the book. It’s because the film adaptation has finally come out! And I had the chance to see it this last week.
I have to say, when they first announced that Ryan Gossling would be playing Ryland Grace, the main character of this space adventure, I didn’t love the idea. Gossling was not at all what I had pictured when I read. HOWEVER, when the trailer finally came out, I got it. He clicked right into that role.
Now, if you’ve not read the book, I recommend doing so. It is indeed excellently written. If you’ve not yet seen the film and you want to, and you’ve somehow missed seeing the trailer, I’d recommend checking it out – BUT stopping at 2:12 (or the second his ship announces “object approaching”). There is a MAJOR spoiler in it – and I can’t believe they included it in the trailer. More than anything, I want you to experience this particular moment in real time as the story develops.
I’d also encourage you not to read the rest of this if you’ve not read the book or seen the movie. There are spoilers ahead.
I have to admit that after finally getting around to watching The Martian and seeing all the changes they made, I was a bit worried about seeing Project Hail Mary. What if they changed things? What if they change Rocky? What if it sucks? What if they lean into the “spider-like” description the book gives to Rocky.
Well, they did change some things, they didn’t change Rocky, and it didn’t suck. I do legitimately think they did well with (mostly) sticking to the source material. And even with my arachnophobia, I loved what they did with Rocky (mostly because he’s not too spider-like, but also because he remains sassy – even if they didn’t include some of his best sassy lines).
Ok – so Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace – he did a great job. There was a good level of goofy to him that was befitting of a fifth-grade science teacher, but also he was believable as a scientist (though they left a lot of the science-y stuff out, I assume to make it easier for a wider audience ¯\_(ツ)_/¯). One of the changes pertains the start of the movie/book – where he spends a good chunk of time not knowing who he is or even where he is. In the book, he can’t even leave the room he’s in until he remembers his own name. In the movie, he’s bumbling around the ship pretty quickly after waking up – and I was just thinking, you’re going to wreck the ship! I do think he did well (and maybe got let off the hook) with his bumbling – he wasn’t trained as an astronaut, so he’s not going to know how to easily move in zero gravity (this is what I mean by being let off the hook – that is not an easy thing to act out).
Another big changes is that Stratt is…nice? They make her far more palatable for the screen, which, again, might be to draw in a wider audience. But she needed to be strict and controlling because she was trying to save the planet and needed to mow down a lot of people to do it. She didn’t have time for hemming and hawing. I think it makes a starker contrast when she forces Ryland to go on the trip. Also – there was a moment that felt a little too RomCom-y for me – when she sings in the karaoke bar, and he’s gazing at her. (Again, maybe this was to make her betrayal seem worse?)
The other major change that I didn’t really get was when Rocky sacrifices himself to save Rocky. First, the situation is different (being crushed from G-forces versus slamming his head into the console – but one you can see, one you can’t; I get why they did that). Next, Rocky is out for MUCH longer – which allows him (and us) to completely miss the creation of a Nitrogen resistant Taumoeba. Also, we learned more about Rocky in the book regarding this with how he heals. Because Ryland apparently almost kills him trying to save him. Instead, movie-goers are just left with the devastation that Rocky might actually be dead all that time.
There were other smaller changes – things left out. Some were probably for time (like blowing up Antarctica) and others probably so they wouldn’t have to explain it (like when Ryland needed a cane on Erid because the gravity was stronger than he was used to; not having the ‘coma’ gene that was supposed to make people more likely to survive a long-term coma; having Rocky’s ship spin in centrifuge mode rather than detaching it).
All that said – I thought it was great. Not even in a “if you divorce it from the book experience” kind of way. As an adaptation.
But, of course, the book was better.
Ryland: But now she’s with Mark.
Rocky: Rocky hate Mark.Rocky: Works of encouragement.
Ryland: That’s not how we say it!
Rocky: Words of great encouragement!Ryland: We can’t just show up in a space ball unannounced and move into someone else’s spaceship. Right? There has to be boundaries.
~ Project Hail Mary
Ami Maxine 