'Project Hail Mary': Everything about Ryan Gosling's astronaut adventure film
The renowned filmmaking duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller is set to embark on another ambitious project titled Project Hail Mary. Announced in 2020, the project draws inspiration from the pages of Andy Weir's eponymous 2021 sci-fi novel and featuring Ryan Gosling in the lead. Lord and Miller have now finally opened up about the film nearly three years after its initial announcement.
Why does this story matter?
Gosling, who earlier essayed Neil Armstrong in Damien Chazelle's biopic drama First Man (2018), is again venturing into the realm of astronauts in Project Hail Mary. Moreover, the critical acclaim garnered by Weir's previous sci-fi thriller novel, The Martian, along with its successful adaptation by Ridley Scott, which earned a Best Picture nomination in 2016, has set the bar high for the upcoming project.
Main character won't have cute cuddly face, explained Lord
During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the Academy Award-winning duo provided updates and details on Project Hail Mary. "It's kind of radically benevolent...it's going to be hard," stated Lord, adding one of the main aspects would be the relationship between Gosling's character and an alien. "He speaks through musical tones, not language—and won't have a cute cuddly face."
'Project Hail Mary' eyeing production in early 2024
Elaborating on the project, Miller said, "Having one of your main characters (alien) have no face and speak through music is a challenge that's crazy enough that we would want to take it on." Lord, Miller, and Gosling will reportedly bring Project Hail Mary to life around early 2024. Meanwhile, the directing duo has a number of projects set to release beforehand, too.
What is storyline of 'Project Hail Mary'?
Set in the not-so-distant future, the novel revolves around Ryland Grace, a former junior high school teacher turned astronaut, who wakes up from a coma with amnesia, only to discover that he is marooned on Mars. Project Hail Mary's storyline sounds similar to The Martian, which also featured the protagonist (Matt Damon in the film) confronting the challenges of survival on the red planet.
All about the upcoming project
In 2020, the adaptation rights to Weir's 2021 (publish year) sci-fi novel was acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM studios). Soon, Gosling was signed to portray the lead character and joined forces as a co-producer alongside a remarkable team of Amy Pascal, Weir himself, Ken Kao, and Aditya Sood. Notably, Sood was also on the production team for the American novelist's last film adaptation The Martian.
