Ryan Gosling hurtles 11.9 million light-years from Earth in the first trailer for Project Hail Mary, released online Monday by Amazon MGM Studios. The three-minute spot—set to Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” and lensed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Greig Fraser—balances cosmic peril with wry humor, a hallmark of directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s work.
Gosling plays Ryland Grace, a middle-school science teacher drafted for a last-ditch mission to reignite the dying Sun. The film also stars recent Oscar-nominee Sandra Hüller, Milana Vayntrub, Lionel Boyce and Ken Leung. Drew Goddard, who scripted The Martian, adapted Weir’s novel; principal photography ran from June to October 2024 at London’s Shepperton Studios and on LED-volume stages that Fraser helped pioneer.
Amazon’s poster last week fixed the U.S. release for 20 March 2026, with IMAX bookings already advertised. Some outlets, including an earlier Wrap item, cite 30 March, but studio materials list the 20th, suggesting the earlier date is authoritative.
Reaction has been swift. CinemaBlend’s Kelly West called the adaptation her “most anticipated 2026 movie,” noting the source novel’s 4.5 Goodreads rating from more than 800,000 readers. Conversely, film writer Jordan Ruimy warned that revealing “quite a bit of the plot” nine months out is a “risky” marketing play. Ruimy earlier reported on a secret West Coast test screening where a nearly finished three-hour cut drew comparisons to Arrival and Interstellar, fuelling speculation Amazon could shift the release into late-2025 awards season if word-of-mouth stays strong.
Author Andy Weir, speaking to fans last year, stressed that the film “won’t change Rocky at all,” reassuring readers worried about the beloved alien engineer’s portrayal. Producers Lord, Miller and Gosling are said to share that fidelity, aiming to replicate the blend of hard science and emotional optimism that propelled Weir’s earlier Martian adaptation to box-office and Oscar success.
With Fraser’s imagery, Lord-Miller’s genre leap and Gosling’s star power, Project Hail Mary now joins Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Prophecy and Greta Gerwig’s Narnia as one of the most closely watched studio gambles of the 2026 slate.
