A solitary scientist, a dying sun, and an unexpected friend
Project Hail Mary began as a novel by Andy Weir, published in May 2021 by Ballantine Books. Weir had already earned his following with The Martian (2011, then 2014 from Crown), a book that turned first-person survival science into compulsive reading. With Project Hail Mary he pushed further: a solo astronaut wakes up alone on a deep-space ship with no memory of how he got there, and the fate of the solar system depends on what he figures out before it is too late.
The book became an instant bestseller, driven by one of the most quietly astonishing first-contact relationships in recent science fiction. Unlike The Martian, it has so far generated a single major adaptation: a feature film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Amazon MGM Studios, with Ryan Gosling attached to star and Phil Lord and Chris Miller (the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The LEGO Movie directors) at the helm. That film has been in active development since 2021 and is expected to be a major release.
As of mid-2026, the novel remains the only complete version of the story. No game, comic, stage production, or audio drama has been released. The film is in production but has not yet reached audiences. The guide below covers what exists, what is coming, and what to read or watch while you wait.
Project Hail Mary across the years
- 2021Novel published by Ballantine Books Project Hail Mary
- 2021Film adaptation announced with Ryan Gosling attached to star
- 2022Phil Lord and Chris Miller attached as directors
- 2026Film in production (release date TBC) Project Hail Mary
The relationship that develops in the second half is the kind of thing science fiction was invented to explore: two minds so different they should not be able to communicate, finding a way.Critical consensus at the time of publication, 2021
If you love the survival science
Stories where one person has to think and experiment their way out of an impossible situation
If you love the first-contact friendship
Alien encounters built on communication, curiosity, and mutual respect
If you love the near-future hard science
Sci-fi that takes physics, biology, and engineering seriously
If you loved The Martian and need more Andy Weir
Other works by Weir and films that share its voice and spirit
The definitive version: read the novel
The novel is the only complete version of Project Hail Mary that exists right now, and it is genuinely excellent. The first-person voice is perfectly calibrated, the science feels earned rather than explained, and the relationship that develops in the second half is one of the great surprises in recent popular fiction. Read it cold, knowing as little as possible. The audiobook narrated by Ray Porter is also superb: Porter's performance of the non-human voice is worth the format on its own.
The one to watch: the film has real potential
Ryan Gosling proved with Barbie that he can carry enormous commercial films with real emotional depth, and Lord and Miller have not made a bad film yet. The source material is better suited to screen than The Martian was: the story is tighter, the emotional stakes are higher, and the central relationship is the kind of thing a great performance can elevate beyond what prose can do. The expectations are high for good reason.
