PROJECT HAIL MARY

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film opens on a spacecraft. A man named Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up from a coma. He struggles to get himself on his feet again and has no memory of how he got there. The only other two crew members onboard, Captain Yao Li-Jae (Ken Leung) and engineer Olesya Ilyukhina (Milana Vayntrub) are both dead. He looks out his window and sees he is somewhere up in space, in a star system far from Earth. Grace estimates it will take him roughly thirteen years to return home.

Some of Grace’s memories slowly come back. He was a middle school teacher, explaining to his students that there is an infrared line going from the sun to Venus, called the “Petrova Line”, and how the Astrophage emitted by the Line is dimming the sun and will slowly cool the planet to dangerous levels. He assures his students that the best minds in the world are working to resolve the issue.

A government agent named Eva Stratt (Sandra Huller) visits Grace over his work on the Petrova Line. Knowing that there is a credible threat to the Earth’s sun, she brings Grace in to do some research with some samples of Astrophage gathered. After a few failures, Grace learns that the Astrophage is a cell. It dies after some exposure but Grace deduces it’s made entirely of water. Further research shows that the Astrophage comes from Venus via the planet’s carbon dioxide and taking energy from the sun.

Grace reports to Stratt for Astrophage replication since it is considered a viable fuel source. She brings him before a council of other scientists as she explains to him that she is bringing him onboard “Project Hail Mary”. The issue is that other stars are being affected by Astrophage, except for one: Tau Ceti. The mission is to go there on a one-way trip and find a way to handle the Astrophage that is affecting the stars, on what is essentially a suicide mission.

Back in the present, Grace eulogizes Yao and Ilyukhina before ejecting their bodies into space. After an issue with the ship’s controls, Grace approaches Tau Ceti and sees the Petrova Line as close as he can. He then sees a gigantic alien spacecraft before him. The spacecraft sends a container toward Grace’s ship, which he catches and brings onboard after determining it is not dangerous. Inside is a model made by the ship’s inhabitant depicting a sort of map of the star system, indicating its origin is from 40 Eridani.

The spacecraft produces a tunnel made of an element known as xenonite, allowing Grace to cross over in his suit. He meets a rock-like alien that mimics his movements and also made a small figure based off Grace (raising his hand in triumph catching the previous container). Grace names the alien “Rocky” (voice of James Ortiz) and creates a voice modulator to translate Rocky’s speech to English for them to communicate since Rocky’s species sees via echolocation. Grace learns that Rocky was part of a crew of 23 Eridians and is also the sole survivor. They make a pact to save the stars together.

A flashback shows Stratt introducing Grace to Yao, Ilyukhina, and lead scientist Dr. Martin DuBois (Malachi Kirby) prior to the mission, as well as their backups. They are all aware of the fate that awaits them but tell Grace they have methods of death they can choose from. They witness the power of the 1099 spin drives powered by the Astrophage on the Hail Mary ship by showing how it melts a ton of metal. Grace tells Yao that he doesn’t think he has the “bravery genes” that they do, but Yao says one just needs to find someone to be brave for.

Present – Grace brings Rocky onto his ship as he walks around in a small type of spacesuit to adjust to Grace’s atmosphere. Grace documents his time with Rocky as his new “roommate”. They work together to collect a sample of Astrophage to figure out why it’s not affecting Tau Ceti. Grace also shows Rocky aspects of Earth culture, though he starts to open up and admits that he didn’t have anybody back on Earth, while Rocky had a mate back on his planet. Another flashback shows how lonely he felt on Earth among the crew, who all had partners of their own. After a talk with Stratt, she goes up to sing “Sign of the Times” for karaoke to the crew, to their astonishment.

Grace and Rocky make it close enough to Tau Ceti’s surface that Grace finds himself in the Petrova Line. They approach the planet Tau Ceti-e, which they rename “Adrian” (to keep the “Rocky” theme going). Grace recovers a sample of the organism that eats Astrophage, which is a bacteria that he calls “Taumoeba” produced by the life that exists on Adrian. When Grace tells Rocky that he is not getting home, Rocky offers to give him the Astrophage he needs to help him get home, even if it means Rocky will get home much slower than anticipated. This makes Grace emotional, and he introduces Rocky to a hug.

Flashback – Grace and Stratt are admiring the ship for the mission, until an explosion breaks out as a result of mishandling the Astrophage. DuBois and the backups are killed. Stratt wants Grace to go in place of the dead scientists, but Grace doubts that he is capable of pulling it off. She gives him time to think it over.

Present – Grace and Rocky move above Adrian’s atmosphere to get a sample of the Taumoeba, but a fuel leak breaks out and causes damage to the Hail Mary. While trying to get a handle on the situation, Grace gets knocked out after slamming against the controls. Rocky gets out of his spacesuit to protect Grace, though it causes him severe damage.

Grace wakes up and finds Rocky injured. He gets him somewhere to regulate his temperature so he can recover. During this time, Grace works to breed the Taumoeba to use against the Astrophage. Rocky wakes up, and he and Grace celebrate their discoveries. Eventually, the time comes for the two to part ways, though it is clear that neither wants to go. They acknowledge their friendship and head home.

One last flashback shows Grace coming to Stratt with his decision, which is to not join the mission despite understanding how high the stakes are. With no choice left, Stratt has Grace drugged and put on the ship, which explains why he had no memory of being on the Hail Mary.

En route back to Earth, the Taumoeba starts to eat through the xenonite containers and is eating the Astrophage on the Hail Mary. Grace manages to get his situation under control, but he realizes that the Taumoeba will eat through Rocky’s ship since it is entirely made of xenonite, and if that doesn’t kill him, extreme radiation exposure will. Knowing he only has enough fuel for one option (go home or save Rocky), Grace decides to rescue his friend. He sends probes filled with Taumoeba back to Earth and goes to reunite with Rocky.

The probes successfully land on Earth, and Stratt is seen reviewing Grace’s logs. He and Rocky made it back to Erid, where the Eridians have built a bio-dome for Grace to live in and work as a teacher to the children of that area. Rocky tells Grace that their scientists have made it possible for Grace to return home, but he decides to think it over.

Organisms known as Astrophage are eating away at the stars and dimming them, which will cause catastrophic cooling levels to Earth in a matter of decades. To combat this, the government has organized "Project Hail Mary", in which a team of scientists will go up in space to Tau Ceti, the only star not affected by the Astrophage. The project's director, Eva Stratt, enlists the aid of a teacher named Ryland Grace, who has studied the science behind the phenomena, caused by the "Petrova Line". Grace doesn't think himself brave enough to take on the mission, so Stratt has him drugged and placed on the ship.

The ship's captain and engineer, who were the only other crew members besides Grace, are both dead by the time Grace wakes up. After ejecting their bodies into space, Grace comes upon an alien spacecraft inhabited by a creature of the planet Erid. Grace befriends the creature and names him "Rocky", and he finds a way to communicate with Rocky. Grace learns that Rocky is the sole survivor of a crew who also went to investigate the Astrophage, which has been affecting his planet as well.

Together, the two make it across the surface of a planet on Tau Ceti (dubbed "Adrian") collect samples of an organism that eats Astrophage, which Grace refers to as "Taumoeba". In the middle of the mission, Grace's ship suffers a malfunction that renders him unconscious. Rocky protects Grace at the expense of his own body suffering damage outside his own atmosphere. As Rocky recovers, Grace breeds the Taumoeba with enough to send back to Earth. Rocky also gives Grace enough Astrophage needed to return home, even though the mission was meant to be a one-way trip. However, the Taumoeba starts to eat through Grace's ship, and he realizes the same will happen to Rocky. He sacrifices his chance to return to Earth and sends the Taumoeba in probes back to Earth so he can save Rocky.

Stratt receives the probes, as well as logs from Grace. He returns to Erid with Rocky and lives under a biodome, working as a teacher to the children there. Rocky tells Grace that his scientists have made it possible for Grace to return home, but he chooses to think about it.