The insanely epic first trailer for Project Hail Mary only showed part of the story. In the film, based on the novel by Andy Weir, a highly unqualified astronaut named Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up in deep space with amnesia, and slowly realizes it’s up to him to save the world. But that fish-out-of-water story is only half of it.
This morning MGM released a new trailer for the film, and it finally reveals what makes this story truly special. And no, it’s not that already tantalizing premise of one man alone in space, using science in awesome ways. We’ve seen that Andy Weir movie. No, this one is actually more about friendship, and a very unlikely friendship at that. Here’s the new trailer for Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.
The end of the first trailer teased that Ryland would meet an alien named Rocky, and here, we get to see more of that burgeoning friendship. Which, again, is just utterly fascinating. Think about it. You’re in space. An alien ship shows up, but you can’t communicate. What do you do? Are they friendly? What do they want? Can you help each other? So much of that is the heart of the Project Hail Mary book, and it seems, will be part of the movie, too.
Plus, even with this bigger, more revealing trailer, there are still three months to go before its March release. We have yet to see or hear the full Rocky. So there’s plenty more to reveal. Or you can just read the book.
If Lord and Miller, who haven’t directed a feature film since 2014’s 22 Jump Street, capture even half of the magic in Weir’s book, Project Hail Mary will be one of the best movies of next year. And this trailer certainly looks like they’re well on their way.
Co-starring Sandra Hüller, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub, Project Hail Mary was adapted by Drew Goddard and will hit theaters on March 20. Are you as excited for this one as we are?
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