‘Project Hail Mary’ Wouldn’t Work Without Its Most Daring Creative Decision

Opening to a robust $80 million in its opening weekend, Project Hail Mary is 2026’s first major cinematic event and a resounding win for Ryan Gosling, who proved himself as a viable box office star following the relative disappointment of The Fall Guy in 2024. While Gosling is the lead star in the new, critically acclaimed adaptation of Andy Weir‘s novel by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the person that has everyone buzzing is not a movie star, or even a human being, for that matter. Step aside, Sylvester Stallone, as there is a new Rocky in town. The spider-like rock creature from the planet Erid is the heart of Project Hail Mary and a surprising breakthrough that no one expected in this weighty sci-fi epic. Nonetheless, Rocky has already taken pop culture by storm. Audiences can still be wowed by inventive creations, especially when they are made with practical effects and tactile craft. Take notes, studios, puppets, and mechanical effects lead to magic.

‘Project Hail Mary’ is a Triumph in Practical Effects and Production Design

The first half of Project Hail Mary, following Ryland Grace’s (Gosling) heroic arc as a reluctant science teacher-turned-lone survivor on a failed space odyssey, mirrored the narrative arc of The Martian, the other notable sci-fi film based on Andy Weir’s source material. When Dr. Grace meets an unknown being while trapped in space, a creature made out of boulder rocks, the film takes on a new life as an endearing buddy comedy. Cribbing from two Steven Spielberg classics, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Grace learns how to communicate with Rocky through a computer translator and develops a rapport with him, more so than he has with anyone else on planet Earth. Rocky reveals a strong inner core as we learn he is also a survivor of a disastrous mission. The film’s emotional dynamic hinges on the humorous but shockingly tender relationship between this man and a rock creature.

With most studio blockbusters, especially those set in a sci-fi universe, CGI is the duct tape that filmmakers and producers rely on to patch up the design of ships, creatures, and effects, altogether creating an adequate but ultimately flat-looking mise-en-scène. Lord and Miller, off the heels of the groundbreaking visual language of the Spider-Verse movies, broke new ground again in Project Hail Mary, which is a marvel in production design and cinematography. The key reason? Everything you’re looking at was built by a group of artisans with their hands, providing the film with a sense of old-school movie magic that Lord and Miller specialize in. Combined with the duo’s love of pop culture infusion and genre hybrid, Project Hail Mary sticks with the audience’s imagination.

The Puppet Work Behind Rocky is the Heart of ‘Project Hail Mary’

The crown jewel of Project Hail Mary‘s craft is also the film’s narrative engine: Rocky, who proves to be the friend Dr. Grace desperately needed while he survived for his life and protected the future of humanity on Earth. The rock space animal’s dexterity and already iconic look are the product of puppeteer James Ortiz, who also provided his translated voice. His fleshed-out movement and interaction with the scenery could’ve only been executed with precision by a puppet pulling the strings and being in the room with Ryan Gosling. Similar to the titular alien in E.T., Rocky wouldn’t have been able to tug at your heartstrings if he didn’t carry such intense emotionality and textures on the screen.

CGI is not inherently a liability as a character design, but on a story level, it pales in comparison to puppets and other mechanical models, which can seamlessly connect with both the human actors and the audience. If Grace were chatting with an alien created by a computer, Rocky would’ve felt disposable and slight, turning Gosling’s banter into a comedic routine. The actor magnetically holds the screen throughout the film’s lengthy runtime in a pure showcase of movie stardom, but he is somehow matched by the wit, charm, and pathos of Rocky, whose tangible presence underlines the thematic undertones of survival and companionship. Considering that Project Hail Mary revolves around the prospect of discovering and cultivating new life in our galaxy, we need to be transfixed by Rocky as a tactile being, as he opens up our imaginations to the possibilities of the future and the roadmap to connecting with those with completely different DNA than us.

In many ways, Project Hail Mary is a love letter to the art of below-the-line craft that cements the iconography of sci-fi stories on the big screen. The decision to have James Ortiz provide the voice for his own remarkable puppet work is a reflection of the heart that goes into these overlooked tasks that nonetheless drive this ambitious epic by Phil Lord and Chris Miller.

Project Hail Mary is now playing in theaters.