From its stunning visuals to its brilliant effects, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary has secured its spot among 2026’s best films. With Ryan Gosling as the lead, the space sci-fi remagines Weir’s survival story for the big screen, entralling critics with a delightful tale grounded in practical effects. Also starring Sandra Hüller, Ken Leung, and Milana Vayntrub, Project Hail Mary’s alien character, Rocky, has dominated conversation about the film’s technical ingenuity.
Gosling’s Ryland Grace encountered the alien amid his mission to save Earth from an impending disaster. An unexpected friendship and collaboration between Grace and Rocky added a strong buddy flick tone, elevating the movie’s overall appeal. Interestingly, Rocky was brought to life without CGI, but that’s not the only fascinating behind-the-scenes fact about the making of Project Hail Mary.
1. It Took A Team Of Five “Ninjas” Puppeteers To Bring Rocky To Life
Believe in the Hail Mary #ProjectHailMary pic.twitter.com/RvbbUAMmjc
— Phil Lord (@philiplord) February 8, 2026
Rocky, the alien buddy of Ryan Gosling’s character, isn’t a CGI creation. The character was brought to life through puppetry and animation. Lord disclosed on X that Rocky was built and designed by “the legendary Neal Scanlon and his creature shop,” while James Ortiz and his team performed the character. During an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night talk show, Gosling revealed it took five puppeteers to portray his alien friend. “He was a bit of a diva,” started the actor, “he was quite high maintenance, he came with five puppeteers. They call themselves The Rocketeers, and they were dressed like ninjas. They would come in and like hide and be doing the puppeteering.”
2. Gosling And Ortiz Improvised Their Interactions To Create A Genuine Bond For Their Characters
Gosling attributes the chemistry between Ryland and Rocky to the directors’ decision to use practical effects for the alien instead of CGI. “He was a practical effect, he was a puppet, so that allowed me the opportunity to have him there in the room with me,” he told Inquirer. “Jame Ortiz, who was the puppeteer, was the voice, and we could really develop an actual bond. We could improvise and explore any direction we wanted to go in… It was a real relationship, so I think that’s part of the magic of what finds its way on screen.”
3. The Movie Was Made Without Green Or Blue Screens
Some clarification here: “no green screen” doesn’t mean “no VFX”.
There were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!)
Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully,… pic.twitter.com/m5LWzuhTT7— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 4, 2026
To deliver an authentic, space sci-fi cinematic experience, the Project Hail Mary directors refrained from using green or blue screens during production. “What’s fun about the movie is that there is no green screen in the movie whatsoever,” Miller told ComicBook. “Not a single green or blue screen was used.” The director’s revelation polarized moviegoers, many of whom argued it was impossible to produce such an ambitious film without green or blue screens. Responding to that, Miller explained on X that “‘no green screen’ doesn’t mean ‘no VFX’.”
“Green screen is something used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully, and is something we didn’t want to do,” reads his post. “When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet, which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would.” The director also disclosed that “the wide space exteriors and spaceship shot were entirely digital.”
4. The Project Hail Mary Spaceship Was Built As A Set For The Film
Without green and blue screens, the production undertook an elaborate construction of the film set. This made it possible for the directors to shoot all the scenes inside the ship on a real set. “The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built,” Miller divulged to ComicBook. The director reiterated this in his X post, explaining that VFX was used to remove unwanted objects after filming on a real set. “We built the interior of the Hail Mary ship,” he wrote, “but within the ship, there were still wire and puppeteer removal and ceiling replacements.”
5. Ryan Gosling’s Daughter Inspired His Ryland Grace Look
Gosling deeply cares for his kids and their opinions about his work. What they think matters to him because he believes they are always honest. So, when his daughter commented that he looked smarter in glasses, he embraced the feedback and decided on his character’s appearance on Project Hail Mary. “I was playing with looks for the character, and my daughter walked by. I had some glasses on, she goes, ‘You look smarter in glasses,’ and I was like, ‘Then I will–I need to look smart in this, so I’ll wear glasses.’ It was a great note,” the actor told ExtraTV. Check out the major changes Guillermo del Toro made in his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
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