At CinemaCon this week, Amazon MGM had a notable array of star-driven upcoming films to tout that are opening in theaters (before streaming) over the course of 2025 and 2026, including Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson in Mercy and Chris Hemsworth and Halle Berry in Crime 101. And while it might take awhile before we see James Bond again – though executives promised newly-hired producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman are hard at work developing the next film – it was clear the studio has especially high hopes for Project Hail Mary.

Despite opening a full year from now, in March 2026, Project Hail Mary was the film Amazon MGM opened their presentation with, showing an extended preview for the film. Based on Andy Weir’s book of the same name, Project Hail Mary stars Ryan Gosling, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing, all of whom were in attendance (it was Lord’s second appearance of the week, since he’d also been at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation to announce Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’s new 2027 release date).

Lord and Miller are known for funny and eclectic projects like 21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie and the Spider-Verse films (the latter of which they write and produce, with others directing), but the footage indicates Project Hail Mary has a different vibe to it from their previous work. The story follows Gosling’s mild-mannered school teacher turned astronaut, Ryland Grace, whose knowledge and skill leads him to be sent into space on a mission to save humanity, when it’s discovered that the Earth’s sun is one of many stars that are dying.

There was certainly a good amount of humor to be found in the footage, as Ryland panics over what he’s being asked to do, declaring at one point: “You have the right stuff! I have the wrong stuff!” But overall, it felt more subdued than their broader comedies, or even the heartfelt yet frequently very funny Spider-Verse movies, appearing to have a more poignant and awestruck overall feeling, as Ryland goes on his incredible mission to the far reaches of space – leaving Gosling at one point sporting long hair and a bushy beard.

The big added element here is screenwriter Drew Goddard, whose credits include projects like Cloverfield and Cabin in the Woods. But most notably, when it comes to this film, Goddard wrote the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for The Martian, which was also adapted from a book written by Andy Weir. And there’s definitely a similar feel between that film and Project Hail Mary, with its science-friendly, warm-hearted and witty look at a man alone in space…

…well, alone at first. Because as the footage teased at the end via a quick shot of a strange hand reaching out, Ryland comes to encounter an alien he names Rocky, who Miller noted “is trying to solve the same problem” in order to save his people. The footage concludes with Ryland sending a message back to Earth in which he declares “So… I met an alien! He’s kind of growing on me. Not growing in me. …Which was a concern for a while.”

Miller described Project Hail Mary as “the biggest challenge we’ve taken on,” with Gosling saying “It’s an insanely ambitious story that’s massive in scope. It seemed really hard to make and that’s kind of our bag.”

CinemaCon is an event aimed at movie theaters, and as the group were touting the big screen visuals of the film – despite them stressing none of the effects were final, what we saw looked quite good even this early – Miller remarked: “Movies are meant to be seen on the biggest screen possible with the weirdest-looking novelty popcorn bucket possible!”

Also starring Sandra Hüller and Milana Vayntrub, Project Hail Mary opens March 20, 2026.

For more CinemaCon coverage, here’s we learned about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Thunderbolts, Predator: Badlands, Superman, Mortal Kombat II, Resident Evil, Spider-Man: Brave New Day, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, John Wick 5, Jurassic World Rebirth, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, Masters of the Universe, The Beatles, The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender, TRON: Ares, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.