An impossible mission. An unlikely friendship.

Watch the Project Hail Mary movie trailer

Project Hail Mary producer and director talk about making the impossible possible

A journey light years away from our own galaxy awaits in Project Hail Mary, the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s (The Martian) hit sci-fi novel of the same name.

Long time collaborators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are at the captain’s seat as producers and directors of the film. The duo received the manuscript for Weir, and consumed it in record time. “We read it in 24 hours,” Miller says. “I stayed up all night. I think I went to bed at 5am because I had to find out what happened.”

Lord saw something special in the novel, and just knew that they had to helm the project. “It presents as a space adventure, a disaster movie, and then a third of the way through, it becomes an intimate character study between two individuals who have to learn how to communicate,” Lord says. “That shift is what makes it special.”

Check out the latest sneak peek vignette from Project Hail Mary:

Weir had actually handed Gosling his manuscript for Project Hail Mary in early 2020, before the release of the novel. He’d already had a vision of Gosling portraying his main protagonist, but he also wanted the actor to consider producing the film as well. “It’s such an epic journey,” Gosling says. “And Ryland Grace is not stoic in any way. He’s not brave in any traditional sense and he doesn’t have any illusions about being a hero. But he keeps trying.”

With that, Gosling was on board, and soon after a team started being formed. Alongside the Lord-Miller duo, producer Amy Pascal (Little Women, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) was tapped to be part of the developing team. Pascal had also read the novel, and was drawn to the human element of Weir’s work. “It’s about science, yes,” Pascal says. “But it’s also about faith – faith in people, faith in collaboration. We’re living in a time where everyone is scared of each other. No one trusts each other. Nobody wants to listen to each other. Everybody’s in their silos just believing what they believe and reading different newspapers and not opening themselves up to other people. This movie is about having to listen. You have to learn someone else’s language. You have to understand where they’re coming from, or you can’t save the world.”

Lord had the same feelings going into making the film, and hopes that they can create something truly inspirational. “We are living through a time where things can seem impossible, and this movie is about what is possible when people come together with imagination and goodwill,” Lord says.

Set off on a journey across galaxies  Project Hail Mary arrives in Philippine cinemas on March 18.

Check out Ryan Gosling’s La-La-Land-inspired poster for Project Hail Mary

Ryan Gosling is on a mission: to fix his “La La Hand” with a brand new photoshoot for his upcoming film Project Hail Mary. To help him recreate the iconic La La Land poster,” his partner Rocky is at the scene to strike a pose with him. The resulting poster is as Rocky would say, “Amaze amaze amaze.”

Project Hail Mary is the film adaptation of Andy Weir’s (The Martian) hit sci-fi novel of the same name. The film is helmed by duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as producers and director. Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling as science teacher Ryland Grace, who awakes on a seemingly empty spacecraft with no memories of himself and why he is in deep space. As Grace regains his memories, he remembers his mission: to figure out how to stop an alien lifeform from cooling down the sun. An unlikely ally appears as he races against time to save the Earth from extinction.

Project Hail Mary also stars Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Ken Leung, Liz Kingsman and James Ortiz.

WATCH: Ryan Gosling re-imagines La La Land poster with Rocky

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at Ryan Gosling fixing his “La-La Hand” with Rocky in a re-imagined poster of La La Land with his new bestie from planet Erid.

^{Videos and photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures}