Project Hail Mary

In Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s latest film (USA 2026), Grace (Ryan Gosling), a secondary school teacher and molecular biologist, awakens from an induced coma on a spaceship, light years away from Earth. His mission is to find a way to combat astrophages – microorganisms whose proliferation threatens to completely obscure the Sun. Other stars in the galaxy are also suffering this fate, with the exception of the star Tau Ceti, which, for reasons that remain unclear, appears to be resistant to the astrophages. On his journey through space, Grace encounters an alien who is also the last survivor of his mission. “And while a friendship and a joint venture to save the planet emerge in space in the midst of psychedelically swirling northern lights and fireworks of light, the earthly backstory unfolds in flashback. Sandra Hüller plays a subtle role here – yet another woman who guards secrets in a fascinating way and even spices up the delivery of the worst possible news with a touch of humor. This, too, is different from the norm: the end of the world managed by a woman.” (Anke Sterneborg) (hjf)