If there’s a modern strain of studio sci-fi that still plays like an event, it’s the kind that starts with a single person in an impossible place and then widens—slowly, relentlessly—until the stakes feel planetary. That’s the lane “Project Hail Mary” is gunning for, and its newly released trailer is timed like a statement of intent: this isn’t a streaming-side curiosity, it’s a theatrical swing.
The film stars Ryan Gosling (“Blade Runner 2049,” “Barbie”) as Ryland Grace, an astronaut who wakes up on an interstellar spacecraft with no memory of who he is or what he’s supposed to do—only to piece together that he may be the sole survivor of a crew sent to the Tau Ceti system to find a solution to a catastrophic event on Earth.
“Project Hail Mary” is an Andy Weir story, the writer behind Ridley Scott’s “The Martian,” which means the dread isn’t just existential; it’s practical. The premise is built for problem-solving under pressure, the kind of narrative that treats science as a tool kit and desperation as the clock on the wall. And if the campaign is smart, it won’t oversell the mystery. The hook is already brutal enough: the sun is dying, time is running out, and the only person in a position to help is a guy who can’t even remember his own name.
Behind the camera, the project is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (“The Lego Movie,” “21 Jump Street”), with a screenplay by Drew Goddard (“The Martian,” “Cabin in the Woods”). The supporting cast includes Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Lionel Boyce (“The Bear”), Ken Leung (“Lost”), and Milana Vayntrub (“This Is Us”).
The movie is scheduled to be released on March 20, 2026, with Amazon MGM Studios handling the U.S. and Canada release and Sony Pictures Releasing International releasing it overseas.
The other tell that this is being positioned as a big-screen play: Greig Fraser (“Dune,” “The Batman”) is the cinematographer, and Daniel Pemberton (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”) is composing the score.
A lot of Super Bowl trailer drops are about noise—brand recognition, a punchline, a needle drop you recognize instantly. This one’s advantage is simpler: the premise sells itself, and the talent around it signals a movie trying to feel like the kind of smart, human blockbuster that used to be a staple. If Lord and Miller keep the tonal balance—suspense without dourness, wonder without corniness—this could be the rare space thriller that plays both as spectacle and as a character test.
The film opens on March 20, 2026. Watch the final new Super Bowl trailer below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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