‘Project Hail Mary’ First Reactions Have Us Ready to Fly (and Cry)
It sounds like we might have the first hit blockbuster of 2026 on our hands. On Wednesday, social media reactions to Project Hail Mary went live, and they were filled with pretty high praise for the film. Starring Ryan Gosling, Project Hail Mary is Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 novel of the same name… and according to those who have seen it already, it needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
Our own Editor in Chief, Rachel Leishman, wrote: “PROJECT HAIL MARY is truly something special. A story of hope, love, and loss, I cannot believe Ryan Gosling and Lord & Miller had me crying over a CGI rock!!!!!!”
Brandon Davis, of The Brandon Davis Show and Phase Hero, wrote: “Project Hail Mary is the best movie I’ve seen this year. Masterpiece. The visuals delivered here are tremendously innovative, bending IMAX to its maximum capabilities. It’s unrelentingly creative and rocks with ideas of connection and humanity. Brilliant movie.”
Journalist Mike Ryan wrote: “I love Lord & Miller’s PROJECT HAIL MARY, a hang out buddy movie only one of the buddies is an alien who does not speak human languages. Very sweet and I had to stop myself from crying at the end because it’s embarrassing. I’ll watch this anytime it’s on the rest of my life.”
“PROJECT HAIL MARY: Lord & Miller’s latest plays up a Short Circuit bromance to an hysterical extreme while simultaneously delivering a pulse-pounding space epic that brings true humanity to the centrestage, but not without some jaw-dropping visuals alongside,” wrote critic Adriano Caporusso.
“PROJECT HAIL MARY: Not quite faster-than-light script with too many endings and one crucial plot point that evaporates, plus a seeming corporate obligation to Amazon’s ROCKY catalogue, cannot suppress the galaxy-sized charms of Ryan Gosling. INTERSTELLAR without all the ~stuff~,” wrote Globe and Mail‘s Barry Hertz.
What Is Project Hail Mary About?
Project Hail Mary follows brainy school teacher Ryland Grace (played by Gosling), who wakes up alone on a spaceship light-years away from Earth with no recollection of how he got there. As his memory recovers, he pieces together an outlandish plot that sent him through the galaxy to stop a mysterious entity from blacking out the sun. Other cast members include Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, Liz Kingsman and James Ortiz.
“#ProjectHailMary is terrific. Prepare to feel all the emotions (seriously, since I laughed a lot and then had full on tears streaming down my face a couple of times)” wrote writer Eric Goldman.
“Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s #ProjectHailMary is the iconic duo’s finest hour,” wrote Variety‘s Clayton Davis. “Their “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”: a family-friendly, high-concept crowd-pleaser with real blockbuster upside. Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller are out of this world, owning every frame. Adored!”
Even Edgar Wright, the fan-favorite director of films like The Running Man and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, shared his high praise for the film, writing: Was lucky enough to see Project Hail Mary on a towering IMAX screen last night. A long overdue big-screen live-action return for @philiplord & @chrizmillr, it’s a dazzling but very human epic. The level of detail in every aspect of the production was awe inspiring, not least the puppetry. I also had warm and fuzzy comparisons to 70’s monastic classics like Silent Running and Dark Star, which is high praise indeed. Drew Goddard delivers an excellent screenplay, Greig Fraser’s work is gorgeous, Gosling is endlessly magnetic and Sandra Huller gets to show her ‘Toni Erdmann’ chops again. It made my head spin thinking about how complicated it would be to make. But saving the universe is no easy task. Go see it huge!”
Project Hail Mary will be released exclusively in theaters on Friday, March 6th.
(featured image: MGM)
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