CinemaCon only happened last week, and the science fiction sphere has been buzzing ever since. The most important showcase during CinemaCon was the first trailer from Project Hail Mary – the highly anticipated book adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 novel.
Set to be another blockbuster movie of 2026, contending his previously adapted work, The Martian, Project Hail Mary brings some heavyweight stars into its cast, namely Ryan Gosling, who plays the main character of Ryland Grace.
If you cannot wait for the movie to release and have not read the book yet, there are plenty of reasons to do so.
Of course, there are plenty of reasons to just pick up the book right now, but if you need more of a push, here are the main reasons to read Project Hail Mary before the movie releases. You basically have a whole year to do so, so there are no excuses…
Updated March 4th, 2026
The movie is no longer “next year.” Project Hail Mary hits theatres on March 20, 2026, which, depending on when you’re reading this, might be a matter of days. The buzz has been building for a while, but it went into overdrive when the first trailer dropped last summer and racked up 400 million views in its first week (the most-viewed trailer for any original movie, non-sequel, non-remake, in that timeframe). If you still haven’t read the book, you’re cutting it close. But there’s still time.
What We Know About the Movie Now
One thing that book readers are going to appreciate immediately: Rocky is not a CGI character. He was built and performed on set by a creature team led by Neal Scanlan (the same guy behind some of the best practical creature work in recent memory) and brought to life by puppeteer James Ortiz, who was physically present in every scene with Ryan Gosling. That matters a lot.
The bond between Grace and Rocky is the whole heart of the book, and knowing it was built in real time on a real set, not stitched together in post, gives a lot of confidence that the film gets what made the book work.
The early reactions from people who have actually seen it back that up. Critics who read the book first called it a faithful adaptation; one described Gosling as a perfect fit for Grace, which, honestly, once you picture it, you cannot unsee.
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller described the Grace-Rocky relationship as the core of the film, a story about what is possible when two very different creatures decide to work together instead of apart. That is exactly what the book is about.
If you were skeptical that a novel this internal (a lot of it is just Ryland thinking through science problems alone in space) could translate to the screen, the early word suggests it does. And it is in IMAX, which, given the setting, seems like the right call.
5) High Stakes Mission
Project Hail Mary, as the title suggests, is a Hail Mary mission to save humanity. Our sun is dying quickly, and no one understands why. The goal is to figure out why this is happening and what we can do to save humanity.
This is what Ryland is tasked with.
A high-stakes mission to travel to a distant star where the same phenomenon is happening, understand what is causing it, and how to reverse it and send that information back to Earth.
Ryland knows that this is one reason for the mission and that all of humanity depends on him. This is as high-stakes as it gets, and it’s enthralling to read how it all develops.
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4) The Humour
Project Hail Mary is one of those books that deals with pretty serious subject matter for the main character, Ryland Grace. We are talking about self-sacrifice, meeting an alien species and collaborating with it, as well as figuring out how to save humanity.
Now, if this sounds like a pretty heavy read, Project Hail Mary is not… It has a lot of humour and humorous situations throughout the book that break up the tension that the story builds.
Oh thank God. I can’t imagine explaining “sleep” to someone who had never heard of it. Hey, I’m going to fall unconscious and hallucinate for a while. By the way, I spend a third of my time doing this. And if I can’t do it for a while, I go insane and eventually die. No need for concern.
Ryland is the main character, who is fully aware of his gigantic task at hand and that his mission is a one-way trip. For his own sanity, he has to divert to humour to defuse the situation he is in. The novel offers multiple funny moments, quotes, and memorable situations that Rayland handles with grace.
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3) Relatable Characters
The novel is pretty thin on the character count, which is not a bad thing in general. It makes the story easier to follow and allows you to focus on the development of the plot as well as the main character.
The beauty of Project Hail Mary is that it offers a very relatable main character. Since the majority of the story is spent with Ryland Grace and his adventures, we quickly become attached to the hero.
He is a quirky high school (might be different in the movie) science teacher. Everyone has had a science teacher who was probably a bit eccentric or even slightly weird and funny. Ryland’s character is exactly that: a person whom we all somehow know. He is not perfect and makes mistakes. He is able to laugh at himself, overcome the problems he faces, and grow.
Add on top of that hard science that people can understand, like in The Martian, and you get a perfect mix of relatable characters and a fun story.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter2) Interesting Alien Species
We are talking about none other than Rocky! Rocky, as Ryland calls him, is an alien species that he encounters during his mission.
Rayland names the creature Rocky because of its outer shell that is made of rock-like material. Rocky is also round like a rock, but he does have 6 arms, which is a little bit less like a rock. So close enough.
Rocky is an incredibly well-written character that Ryland has to find a way to communicate with, since Rocky is only able to make sounds like music notes.
You will grow to love the little rock with its six arms, charming personality, and the little musical notes that it uses for communication. On top of that, he develops a bond with Ryland that is hard to ignore.
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Spoilers ahead
1) A Twist Ending
If you haven’t read the book yet, I would suggest you stop here and read it first. Unless you don’t care for spoilers, then read on.
Ryland, being a smart and resourceful human, finds a way to establish proper communication with the alien species and develop their own language. Putting both of their technologies and brain power together, they are able to understand why their stars are dying (Rocky’s star is also afflicted with the same problem!), and send back the information to their homes.
However, the problem is that for Ryland, it was a one-way mission. Therefore, despite the fact they solve the main problem at hand, Ryland remains stranded in the middle of space, light-years away from Earth.
This is where the twist ending happens…
Rocky’s ship and environment are mostly made out of ammonia, which is poisonous to humans at high concentrations. However, Rocky, being the clever creature that he is, along with Ryland, is able to fabricate a pod on his ship for Ryland to live in and travel back to Rocky’s home planet.
Ryland ends up living on Rocky’s home planet, where his species sets him up with a nice place in a giant glass dome. Rocky visits him every day, and they are able to stay friends and learn about each other’s species, technologies, and knowledge.
It is not an ending that I was expecting from Andy Weir, who usually has more happy endings with the main character returning home, such as in The Martian and in Artemis, where the problem is fully resolved at the end.
If these reasons are not enough to make you pick up the book right now and start reading, I don’t know what else will. Sure, you can wait until the adaptation is released next year, but it’s so much more worth discovering the story before the movie to get the full scope of the book and its adaptation.
