Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios.
Photo credit: Jonathan Olley
© 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The sun is dying. The Earth will die. Eventually, all stars will die. What do we do?
This fear is explored in the new movie “Project Hail Mary”, produced and released by Amazon MGM Studios, starring Ryan Gosling. This film is a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from the deaths of astronauts to funny moments in a classroom, making this film full of bittersweet moments.
Gosling plays Dr. Ryland Grace, an outspoken middle school science teacher who isn’t afraid to challenge conventional thinking. Gosling’s portrayal creates a balance between humor and vulnerability in his character, as viewers see him go through a wide range of emotions and situations. This made Grace feel relatable even in the most extraordinary circumstances.
When a news story reveals that mysterious particles are killing the sun and slowly threatening all life on Earth, the race to save humanity begins.
Scientists and world leaders come together to search for answers. Grace develops an experiment, which is essentially a box within a box within another box, to study the strange particles and how they are responsible for this issue. Through this work, he manages to create another one of the particles, bringing humanity closer to understanding the threat. With this breakthrough in hand, global leaders meet to weigh their options, eventually turning their attention beyond Earth.
Ryan Gosling stars as Ryland Grace in PROJECT HAIL MARY, from Amazon MGM Studios. © 2025 Amazon Content Services LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The film’s space scenes are visually striking, capturing both the beauty of space and the isolation of it. At the same time, the story keeps returning to Grace’s humanity and the difficulty of the choices he must make.
The film explores the emotional toll of being completely alone. While isolated in space, Grace meets an alien named Rocky, who is also trying to save his dying planet, Erid. At times, it almost feels like Grace might simply be losing his mind in the silence of space, not knowing how to save planet Earth. But Rocky is real, keeping Grace company, and an unlikely friendship forms as both characters face the imminent end of their worlds.
I expected this film to feel like “Interstellar” by Christopher Nolan: serious, long and leaving me slightly confused when the credits rolled. Space is an extremely complex part of the universe, and we know relatively little about it. Movies like this make it feel like exploring the cosmos, and attempting to understand them might actually be possible.
Instead of leaving confused and more afraid of the unknown, I ended up laughing, crying, and became unexpectedly attached to an alien by the end of the film. I walked away feeling like the movie had delivered a lesson; death may not always be as terrifying as we imagine. Sometimes, risking everything for others is what matters most.
Grace is placed in an impossible situation. At first, he chooses the simpler path, refusing to sacrifice his life for a mission that could save humanity. But he ended up on that spaceship, guaranteed he would never return from space, but hopefully save the world.
The mix of science, humor and drama makes the film feel refreshingly different from many recent space films. “Project Hail Mary” is out in theaters March 20, 2026, taking audiences on an emotional journey that raises questions about sacrifice, survival, and what it truly takes to save the world.
Contact CU Independent Senior Arts Editor Lou Leclercq at louison.leclercq@colorado.edu
