Science Meets Survival in Project Hail Mary’s New Trailer

In 2015, moviegoers fell in love with The Martian, the tense, hilarious, and surprisingly touching adaptation of Andy Weir’s debut novel of the same name. Under the direction of Ridley Scott and a star-studded cast led by Matt Damon, the film went on to garner positive reviews from critics and audiences, strong box office returns, and a handful of award nominations. So when the announcement was made of a second Weir adaptation, this time based on his 2021 bestseller Project Hail Mary, fans of character-driven science fiction had every reason to perk up.

In recent months, Project Hail Mary has made a number of key announcements and left audiences eagerly waiting for the trailer. Today, those anticipations have been satiated by Amazon MGM Studios, as the studio dropped the film’s first official trailer this morning. From the immediately engaging opening shot to the adrenaline-fueled finale, Project Hail Mary promises to be a large-scale, big-concept space opera filled with drama and humor.

Lord and Miller’s involvement with the film comes early, with Amazon and MGM Studios making several smart moves in acquiring the rights to the film even before Weir had begun writing the novel. One of those moves was locking Goddard into the position of screenwriter as early as possible. Those familiar with The Martian will remember Goddard’s intelligent and faithful adaptation, which brought him an Academy Award nomination. Thus, bringing him back on board as director and writer was a logical decision.

Whereas Goddard and Weir had already made their respective names on the big screen with The Martian, the same could not be said for Lord and Miller. A directorial pair used to churning out lower-budget, high-concept blockbusters, they may seem a strange choice for hard science fiction. This could turn out to be the perfect fit, however. Lord and Miller have a unique talent for blending heart and humor in their films, something that could be a boon to Project Hail Mary.

Eva Stratt, the government official who approaches him, explains that scientists still don’t know the reason for the dying suns. They do have a theory, however: some unknown and perhaps alien influence is responsible for this cosmic massacre. Grace’s superiors hope that his knowledge of molecular biology will help him figure out what’s going on.

Grace, on the other hand, is not at all interested in the assignment. “I put the ‘not’ in astronaut,” he tells Stratt, mocking her offer. “I can’t even moonwalk!” It turns out, however, that Grace’s reluctance is not an option. In a thinly veiled threat, Stratt tells Grace that if he doesn’t take the job, he will die, along with his students and, in fact, every living thing on the planet. The cause is simple, and so too is the argument. “If we do nothing,” she says, “everything on this planet will go extinct.” It’s the last thing he wants to hear as a teacher, and so Grace takes the offer.

After a brisk boot camp training session in space travel, he’s off. Many years pass, and the film picks back up with Grace rousing from a cryo-sleep pod to find that he has awoken on the ship. Grace is alone, and not in the best shape: his memory has been wiped in the interim, and the ship is very much not crewed. The story notes that his fellow travelers have all perished along the way. This is backed up by recent casting announcements, which revealed that the late Milana Vayntrub will be playing a Russian crewmate named Olesya Ilyukhina.

Grace is not, however, alone for long. He quickly discovers a second spacecraft, and, to his amazement, a brand new species. Rocky, as he becomes known, is very different from the humans Grace has left behind. Rocky is also, as it turns out, a new life form that has never been seen on Earth—or in space. Rocky is, notably, also not the alien invader that Grace and the audience might expect. “He’s kinda growing on me,” Grace notes in a video feed recorded for his perusal. “At least he’s not growing in me, you know?” The trailer even gives us a quick bonding moment when Grace teaches Rocky how to give the thumbs-up.