The only thing prolific fantasy author Brandon Sanderson can dish out faster than 500-page Cosmere novels is pop culture commentary. The man works — and champions his favorites. So I was excited for Sanderson to finally check out Project Hail Mary, the hit adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 novel. Sanderson was so moved by Project Hail Mary back in the day he put himself on the record, calling it his “favorite science fiction novel” in years. So what does a man enamored by magic systems and science-forward fantasy think of the movie, which, while mostly faithful, also takes some serious liberties to move the story along?
“Fantastic.”
Sanderson is in a particularly fascinating spot assessing a highly anticipated big-budget book adaptation as he is, according to his last update, 55 percent of the way through adapting his own novel Mistborn for Apple. The author hasn’t been shy about past attempts to adapt his work that failed in not just capturing the spirit but even getting scenes and characters he treasured into the dang movie. So adapting Project Hail Mary was always going to be tall order in his eyes. And in his review, which he posted to YouTube, he considers the movie from the perspective of a writer Going Through It.
“As somebody who’s working on the screenplay for an adaptation of his own book, I think I appreciate an excellent adaptation even more than I used to,” he said right off the bat. “They took the book and they seemed to know expertly how to adapt it for a more general audience. It’s a little less sciencey. It’s a little more focused on relationship, which I think is a good move […] It feels a lot like a classic science fiction film from the ’80s or ’90s, but with modern special effects and a little bit of modern filmmaking technique. So it’s an excellent film. An easy 10 out of 10. Go see the movie.”
There’s a lot in the movie version of Project Hail Mary for Sanderson to latch onto. In this review, he basically gushes over how the movie dials back some of the hard science in favor of character and relationships, and comes out stronger for it — particularly when it comes to Rocky, Ryan Gosling’s alien sidekick. The vibe is big “they pulled it off,” with the film hitting that sweet spot of funny, emotional, and just spectacle-heavy enough to justify seeing it on the biggest screen possible. One can’t help but think of how exactly Vin, Helsier, Dockson and the rest will look when Mistborn ends its Hollywood journey.
Project Hail Mary improved on the book’s ‘contrived’ story in one specific way, author says
Andy Weir admits, ‘I wish that I had done it that way in the book.’
Sanderson doesn’t think Project Hail Mary is flawless. The biggest knock is that the movie’s structure isn’t quite as tight as the book’s, especially down the stretch: “it does feel like the endings are rushed a little bit […] and they maybe spent a little too much time on some of the things like how long it takes to start communicating with Rocky.” That tradeoff—lingering on certain beats while speeding through the payoff—feels like exactly the kind of adaptation puzzle Sanderson loves to pick apart. There’s also a sense that some of the book’s deeper mechanics just couldn’t survive the jump to film. The Grace twist doesn’t land as hard without the internal monologue, and the science gets streamlined to the point where it sometimes turns into “this is the next thing we need to do” logic. But it all goes down easy. Adaptation gonna adaptation in the end.
In the end, Sanderson couldn’t help but offer a plea that sounds a bit like manifesting from someone who hopes to launch his own cinematic universe in the near future. He wants to see an Artemis movie, but it’s more than that. He wants to see SFF done right. As right as Project Hail Mary.
“More of this Hollywood, please. A lot more of this.”
Project Hail Mary author, screenwriter share the biggest thing they hated cutting for the movie
‘It wasn’t like the studio did it. I was the one that was like, I think we got to cut it, guys. But I’m still sad about it.’
