Project Hail Mary: 16 Standout Differences Between The Ryan Gosling Movie And Andy Weir's Book

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Project Hail Mary. If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, proceed at your own risk! (and perhaps check out CinemaBlend's spoiler-free Project Hail Mary review)

No adaptation is perfect. Any medium change for a story is going to require alterations – and that means making up for something that can't be done or taking advantage of things that can. Every effort can be made to ensure maximum faithfulness, but "maximum" is not perfection, and fans of Andy Weir's novel Project Hail Mary will find that to be true in directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller's new blockbuster starring Ryan Gosling.

Watching the critically acclaimed film, I couldn't help but take note of the deviations, cuts, and additions made in the book-to-film process, and I've compiled a list of 16 standout differences.

Grace Doesn't Go Back To The Classroom Following His Early Astrophage Discoveries

At chronological start of the story, Ryland Grace is initially brought into the Astrophage experiments because he doesn't believe in the idea of the "Goldilocks zone" being necessary for extraterrestrial life… but then his theory is readily disproven when he discovers that the aliens eating the sun are water based. In the movie, he refuses to be dismissed after this revelation and remains a part of the operation, but in the book, he only goes back to what becomes Project Hail Mary when he returns to his class and has a revelation that his students are part of the generation that will most be devastatingly affected.

The Sahara Desert Isn't Transformed Into A Large-Scale Astrophage Breeding Farm

In both the book and the movie, Grace is the one who figures out the process for breeding Astrophage, and he teaches his methods to scientists around the world so that the microscopic aliens can be multiplied and used as fuel for the Hail Mary. What the adaptation skips over, however, is the process in the source material that maximizes reproduction, which involves a criminal engineer and covering the Sahara Desert in solar panels.

Stratt’s Karaoke Performance Is New

There are very few full-on additions featured in the movie version of Project Hail Mary, but one special scene is included to soften the edges of Sandra Hüller's Eva Stratt. Her hardcore focus on saving the world results in a rough bluntness in the book, but her karaoke performance of the Harry Styles song "Sign of the Times."

Antarctica Isn't Bombed To Slow Global Cooling

Here we have another part of the book completely excised for the film: the risk that Astrophage poses to Earth is consuming so much energy from the sun that the planet dangerously cools, and one controversial tool utilized in the effort to save the world is global warming. A way to stall the effects is by accelerating climate change, and that's accomplished by bombing Antarctica and releasing stored CO2 and methane.

The Details Of The Coma Technology Are Skipped

Because of the amount of time it takes for a ship to fly to Tau Ceti and because of the small confines of the Hail Mary, it's decided in Project Hail Mary to have chosen astronauts be in induced comas during the trip – but that details is approached very differently in the movie compared to the book. In the source material, only a very small number of people have the genetic markings required to survive the induced coma, which severely limits the pool of potential crew members. Tests reveal Grace to be a suitable candidate, which is why he is chosen to be on the ship after the primary scientist and his backup are killed.

The Process Of Connecting The Blip A To The Hail Mary Is Simplified

When it comes to the Blip A connecting to the Hail Mary in the movie, the former extends a xenonite tunnel that latches on to the latter's air lock. That's a much more simplified version of what happens in the book. As written by Andy Weir, the tunnel doesn't extend until after Grace breaks off a part of his own ship so that he can send a sample of the metal to the mysterious aliens.

Discussion Of The Beatles Is Minimized

The "beetles" remain a key part of the story in the film adaptation of Project Hail Mary, but it doesn't give them the same kind of spotlight that the book does. A whole scene isn't included that sees Grace learn about the mini Astrophage-powered ships from the nerdy man who both designed and named them.

Much Less Time Is Dedicated To Chain Building

Both the book and the movie versions have Grace and Rocky work together to create a long chain that will ultimately allow them to scoop up Taumoeba from Adrian's atmosphere… but there's a big difference in how much time it takes. The duo has to create miles and miles and miles of chain, and while the time it takes them to do this practically drives them nuts in the novel, it's not depicted as much of a strain in the film.

There Isn't An Initial Taumoeba Leak They Have To Fix

The Hail Mary is nearly destroyed after the successful acquisition of Taumoeba, with power systems failing and intense gravity nearly resulting in Grace being crushed – but the movie skips over another disaster that happens around that time: a Taumoeba leak that sees all of the ship's fuel get devoured. Fortunately, the protagonist is able to use Astrophage from the beetles to fly back to the Blip A and refuel.

There's No Talk For Selective Breeding Of Taumoeba For Threeworld

This is just a straight-up oddity: when Grace is performing selective breeding of Taumoeba so that they can survive more nitrogen-rich atmospheres, there is discussion of ensuring that the Astrophage predator can exist on Venus, but there is no talk of the organism surviving on Threeworld (the Venus-equivalent in Rocky's home solar system).

Grace Doesn't Get Loopy From Pain Pills/Nearly Kill Rocky By Accident

The book and movie versions of Project Hail Mary feature the dramatic plot point where Rocky leaves his enclosure to save Grace's life, but the latter leaves out a few details from the aftermath. Grace doesn't have to treat any burns from Rocky's touch, which means that he doesn't get a bit loopy on pain meds and try to save his friend's life. In the novel, he blows air into the alien's carapace to remove what he perceives as gunk, but Rocky eventually tells him that the action could have killed him.

The Blip A Gets A Visit From Grace

Here we have another notable addition: in the book, Grace can never board the Blip A because it's decided that the combination of heat, pressure and atmosphere would instantly kill him, but the movie skirts around that by having Rocky build Grace a xenonite suit that he can clumsily travel in.

Grace's Food Supply Isn't Brought Up As A Problem

This is one of the bigger omissions from the movie: when Grace realizes that his trip is no longer a suicide mission in the book, one of the big problems he faces is figuring out his food supply. He has extra real food because of Yao and Ilyukhina prematurely dying, but the only other nutrition available aboard is "coma slurry" that is described as tasting like aspirin. When he then makes the decision to save Rocky, it's with the knowledge that he is going to starve to death, as Eridian food is poisonous to him, but he is saved when it's discovered that he can consume Taumoeba.

Grace Hasn't Visibly Aged During His Time On Erid

Remember that deadly heat, pressure and atmosphere I mentioned on the Blip A? All of that also exists on Rocky's home planet of Erid, but it doesn't have the effect on Grace in the movie that it does in the book when he takes up residency there. In both versions, of course, he has breathable air and survivable temperature in his environments, but the book has him a bit physically worse for wear because of the extra gravity on the planet making it harder for him to move.

No Me Burgers

Remember that food problem? There's an extra wrinkle to it. In the book, Grace is eventually able to consume more than just Taumoeba because Eridian scientists replicate a sample of his muscle tissue to create meat that he can consume. He calls them "Me Burgers" because he is essentially performing cannibalism.

We See Eva Stratt On Earth

At the end of the book, we learn about the fate of Earth because Eridian scientists tell Grace that the energy level of the Sun is restored – but the movie goes a bit further than that. The scene with Eva Stratt getting the material from the Hail Mary is brand new, as is the Eridian gesture for goodbye that she learns.

Project Hail Mary is now playing in theaters everywhere.