2026’s Most Exciting Sci-Fi Was “Impossible” To Make for 2 Reasons

There are several highly anticipated sci-fi films on deck for 2026, but arguably the most exciting is Project Hail Mary. Based on the Andy Weir novel of the same name, the movie tells a high-stakes story about Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) embarking on a mission to save Earth. Based on the trailers that have been released so far, Project Hail Mary looks to be the most ambitious directorial effort for helmsmen Phil Lord and Chris Miller, balancing classic big-screen spectacle with genuine heart and emotion. It’s clear from watching the footage that Project Hail Mary was a massive undertaking, one its directors nearly found impossible to pull off.

Speaking with Empire, Lord and Miller discussed the challenges of making Project Hail Mary. “Multiple states of gravity, for one,” Lord said. “Telling a story where there’s essentially one character for long stretches, telling an emotional story where the sequences are about microbes and science experiments. And so much depends on whether two people can become friends.”

Miller specifically called attention to the trickiness of portraying the character of Rocky, the alien lifeform Ryland befriends. “That’s what makes you want to, when you’re reading the book, keep reading,” he said. “Because you suddenly are caring about an alien creature who looks like a pile of rocks. That’s the challenge of making the movie — making an audience care for something that’s so foreign.”

The Martian Is Proof Project Hail Mary Can Work

As most sci-fi movie fans know, Project Hail Mary is not the first time one of Weir’s novels has been brought to life on screen. He’s the author behind The Martian, which was one of the biggest hits of 2015. Not only did it gross $630.6 million at the worldwide box office, The Martian was critically acclaimed, receiving seven Oscar nominations (including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay). Time will tell if Project Hail Mary will replicate that success on the awards circuit, but the early marketing materials are evoking The Martian whenever it can, communicating to audiences that the “impossible” Project Hail Mary can be a great film.

The Martian faced some of the same challenges Lord and Miller dealt with on Project Hail Mary. The main plot revolves around an astronaut who’s accidentally stranded on Mars during a mission, so long stretches of the film follow just one character as he adapts to his new situation and attempts to make the best of things until help arrives. These kinds of movies are always tricky to pull off because there aren’t many (if any) opportunities to have the lead actor play off of someone else. Things can get stale if the actor isn’t up to the task, and fortunately for The Martian, Matt Damon gamely leaned into his charming everyman persona to craft a relatable character who was very easy to root for.

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Project Hail Mary is also fortunate in the casting department. Gosling has long been a fan-favorite actor, demonstrating impeccable range across a variety of projects. He can do everything from musicals (La La Land) to comedies (Barbie) to serious dramas (the underappreciated First Man), so he was clearly up for whatever Project Hail Mary threw at him. Based on his film choices, Gosling is interested in challenging himself as an actor, so the prospect of carrying a major sci-fi film where his main co-star is a puppet of an alien resembling a pile of rocks was probably appealing. It looks like his Ryland Grace will be a spiritual successor to Damon’s Mark Watney, a lovable presence audiences can’t help but get behind.

The obvious difference between The Martian and Project Hail Mary is that the former didn’t have to try to convince audiences to be onboard with an alien creature. The other main characters in the film are Watney’s human crewmates who orchestrate a plan to rescue him. But there are plenty of examples across sci-fi cinema that show Rocky can work. A puppet alien character isn’t a concept that’s too foreign for moviegoers to accept. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest sequels of all time, and a significant chunk of it rides on viewers buying into Yoda. It’s difficult to make any film a reality, and Project Hail Mary had its own set of challenges, but viewers shouldn’t worry that it won’t live up to its potential.

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