Project Hail Mary — the Ryan Gosling-led 2026 movie schedule entry — is sure to excite book lovers and sci-fi fans alike. It follows the story of a high school science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory, but soon discovers he has an important mission to undertake. Given the premise of this book-to-screen adaptation, there’s a lot of science involved, and directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller asked astronomer Neil DeGrasse Tyson for his thoughts on whether they nailed that material.
An esteemed astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson has no problem discussing whether a movie is scientifically accurate. Phil Lord and Chris Miller recently spoke with Sirius XM’s Julia Cunningham and recalled asking Tyson for his reaction to Project Hail Mary, which is based on Andy Weir’s 2021 book of the same name. Tyson apparently attended a premiere, as Lord and Miller explained to Cunningham:
- Julia Cunningham: At any point was Neil deGrasse Tyson just brought in as a consultant?
- Phil Lord: He was at the party last night.
- Julia Cunningham: He was?
- Phil Lord: And we all mugged him.
- Christopher Miller: We’re like, ‘So how did we do? How did we do?’
- Julia Cunningham: Yes. What did he say?
- Christopher Miller: He said we got the science right. We passed the Neil deGrasse Tyson test, yeah.
- Julia Cunningham: You know, because don’t get him started on Armageddon.
- Christopher Miller: I know. Thank god.
- Julia Cunningham: Literally, he’s like, ‘You can just kick that asteroid out of the way.’ Look it up.
I’m reminded of the time Neil DeGrasse Tyson roasted Armageddon for its outlandish way of handling the asteroid hitting Earth. With that brutally honest assessment in mind, it’s a huge relief that he’s giving Project Hail Mary a thumbs up.
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Seriously, Neil DeGrasse Tyson has had plenty of bones to pick with certain sci-fi movies. He fact-checked Gravity and made note of its many space law flubs, dubbing it “Angular Momentum.” Tyson also tore into Interstellar and felt Star Wars didn’t get the science right. While the StarTalk host wasn’t on the set of Project Hail Mary, there was one astrophysicist who was willing to lend a scientific hand:
- Ryan Gosling: That’s where Andy Weir—I love this story about Andy—is that he said he knew that he was different when he was watching Titanic and when Jack dies, he thought, ‘Those aren’t the constellations that would be above them right now.’
- Julia Cunningham: Oh my god.
- Ryan Gosling: Anyway, so we wanted… like, that’s where Andy comes from. That’s why he started writing his own stories. All of those things are important to him. Neil deGrasse didn’t come to set, unfortunately, but Brian Cox did.
- Julia Cunningham: Okay.
- Ryan Gosling: So, we got to pick his brain a little bit.
- Julia Cunningham: Legendary actor Brian Cox or—
- Ryan Gosling: No. Astrophysicist.
- Julia Cunningham: Astrophysicist. I was like, ‘Wow, legendary actor Brian Cox.’ I was like, ‘Did he have a lot of insight?’
It’s good thing Brian Cox (the astrophysicist, not the actor) was there. Of course, any science-based movie may have to take some liberties for the sake of its narrative, but it’s quite impressive that Miller, Lord and co. managed to keep everything tight enough that even Tyson was impressed.
Given that they passed the “Tyson test,” Lord and Miller have achieved something that even James Cameron missed at one point. Tyson said the real problem with Titanic’s ending was that a poor artist survivor like Jack should have tried multiple times to get him and Rose to fit on the door. But I do find it funny that Tyson was able to notice the constellations in that scene.
Project Hail Mary blasted off on opening night with $11 million domestically, which bodes well for its box office run Science fans who have already booked their tickets (or are thinking about it) may be comforted by Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s scientific seal of approval. Looks like Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s mission for their movie was a success—especially if its box office continues to climb. You can watch the Andy Weir-adapted flick in theaters now.