On March 19, 2026, a select group of scientists, students, and movie buffs gathered at Chicago’s AMC Roosevelt Collection 16 theater for a special advance screening of “Project Hail Mary,” a film whose real star, many attendees agreed, was the science itself. While Ryan Gosling’s face filled the screen—playing Ryland Grace, an amnesiac molecular biologist awakened on a spaceship with the fate of Earth in his hands—the true buzz in the auditorium came from the energy of discovery, curiosity, and the joy of scientific problem-solving.
“Project Hail Mary,” directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and adapted from Andy Weir’s 2021 novel by Drew Goddard, officially opens to the wider public on March 20. But for those at this University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory event, the film’s embrace of scientific thinking and hope set it apart from the usual spacefaring fare. According to The New York Times, the movie stands out for how it “embraces the seductions of outer space,” swapping grim fatalism for a sense of play and optimism—a refreshing shift given how often space is depicted as a cold, existential void or the playground of billionaires.
The screening wasn’t just about passively watching a blockbuster. Before the opening credits rolled, the theater lobby buzzed with hands-on science displays organized by UChicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) Science Communications Program. Ph.D. students from PME and the Physical Sciences Department invited guests to marvel at glowing materials under ultraviolet light, explore the secrets of spectroscopy, and witness the magic of nitinol metals—thin wires of nickel titanium that bend and snap back into shape when dunked in hot water. For Thomas Marchese, a PME Ph.D. student, the demonstration was personal: “I think I still have that bracelet somewhere,” he chuckled, recalling a similar childhood experience that sparked his own scientific journey.
Chemistry Ph.D. student Sam Knight shared his enthusiasm for spectroscopy, explaining, “The science that I have learned gives me a rich perspective on the world. I get to understand why everyday, common items are the way they are, or why they change the way they do. I really like to share that.” Meanwhile, Svetlana Altshuler, another PME Ph.D. student, reflected on the power of cinema to inspire: “If you see it on the big screen, it’s something that can capture the wonder and awe that science has for me and I know has for a lot of other people.”
After the credits, an expert panel of UChicago and Argonne researchers took the stage for a lively, spoiler-free discussion of the film’s scientific underpinnings. Argonne computational biologist Nicholas Lee-Ping Chia spoke to the core message of the film: “I always say one of my favorite things about my job is every day I get to wake up and decide what question I want to answer for the first time. It’s not done out of survival mode like it is in the movie, but this internal drive to pursue knowledge is powerful, and it’s really what makes the job fun.”
UChicago astronomy and astrophysics professor Wendy Friedman, who had been eagerly awaiting the film since reading Weir’s novel, praised its blend of imagination and scientific rigor. “I found the book incredibly creative,” she said. “I was impressed by the imagination that he brought to this combined with this very real scientific approach of curiosity, testing things. It was very familiar as a scientist. Something doesn’t work, okay, now think about another way to approach it, and eventually come up with a solution.”
Gregory Grant, an Argonne postdoctoral researcher and UChicago PME graduate, echoed this sentiment. “I definitely had the same sort of reaction, the reflex to wake up and then just go start figuring out the world around you. That resonates very strongly,” he said, highlighting how the film captures the awe and wonder that drives scientific inquiry.
Fred Ciesla, chair of UChicago’s Geophysical Sciences Department and a researcher of exoplanets, appreciated the film’s commitment to scientific plausibility. “I do science every day. I think about science all the time, and watching a movie or reading a book where they take too much liberty with the science is kind of a turn off for me,” Ciesla admitted, underlining the film’s unique achievement in balancing entertainment with realism.
At its heart, “Project Hail Mary” tells the story of Ryland Grace, a middle-school teacher and molecular biologist who is recruited for a desperate mission to save humanity from an alien organism that’s extinguishing stars—including our own sun. As The New York Times notes, this time the end of the world isn’t humanity’s fault, and the film’s optimism is “quaintly old-fashioned”—a world united in the face of cosmic peril. Grace’s journey, propelled by memory loss and mystery, is less about heroics and more about the tenacity of the scientific method. Through flashbacks and onboard experimentation, he pieces together his past and the universe’s fate, with the clock ticking and the stakes astronomically high.
Ryan Gosling, who was sent the unpublished manuscript of Weir’s novel in 2020, steps into the role with a mix of vulnerability and quiet determination. According to The New York Times, he’s “good at conveying the kind of vulnerability that’s all the more touching when men, in particular, try to hide it.” His portrayal of Grace—bewildered, bearded, and ultimately hopeful—grounds the film’s cosmic scale in something deeply human.
The film’s visual ambition is matched by its technical prowess. Shot in two different aspect ratios by cinematographer Greig Fraser, “Project Hail Mary” features lavishly detailed sets that evoke both the loneliness and the grandeur of space. The directors, best known for “The Lego Movie,” bring a polish and pop sensibility to the material, ensuring that the film flows smoothly through its time shifts and emotional beats.
What sets “Project Hail Mary” apart from other space dramas, according to both critics and scientists, is its insistence on hope and the power of collective problem-solving. Unlike the grim solitude of many space films, this story is about collaboration—on Earth and in the stars. The countries of the world join forces, scientists pool their knowledge, and even Ryland Grace’s isolation is punctuated by moments of connection and discovery. As one panelist pointed out, while the film’s multilateral optimism may seem “quaint” in today’s fractured world, it serves as a reminder of what’s possible when humanity comes together in pursuit of knowledge—and survival.
For the audience at the Chicago advance screening, the film’s message resonated deeply. It wasn’t just Ryan Gosling or the high-stakes plot that left an impression, but the depiction of science as a relentless, creative, and ultimately hopeful endeavor. As the lights came up and the panel wrapped, it was clear that for these scientists and students, “Project Hail Mary” wasn’t just a movie—it was a celebration of the very curiosity that drives them every day.
In a world often fixated on catastrophe, “Project Hail Mary” offers a rare cinematic salute to the joys of discovery, the thrill of the unknown, and the quiet heroism of those who use science to light the way forward.