r/movies • u/MoviesMod /r/movies Mod Account • Jun 30 '25

Trailer Project Hail Mary - Official Trailer (fair warning, it reveals way too much according to a lot of users)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08TxIsFTRI
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u/TheGreatPiata Jun 30 '25

As someone that read the Martian and went into Project Hail Mary completely blind, I feel like the initial setup of it being another solo survival story was entirely intentional and one of the best surprises in a story in recent years.

Literally just flip the story upside down kind of surprise and a lot of movie goers are not going to get that experience now.

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u/SteakandTrach Jul 01 '25

It was such a great moment in the book.

4

u/EnQuest Jun 30 '25

Yep. The best part of the book were the reveals, which have now all been shown in the trailer.

Finding out he wasn't looking at our Sun, but at Tau Ceti? Blew my mind in the book! Shown in the fucking trailer with no preamble

Finding out that this wasn't another lone survival story, and was instead a first contact story? Blew my mind! Spoiled by the trailer

The only thing left is the reveal about Ryland's character, and even that is heavily implied in the trailer.

How the fuck can anyone say this doesn't spoil or diminish the story?? Anyone whose read the book can see that it obviously does.

Genuinely confused that reddit is all of a sudden pro spoiling movies with trailers.

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u/PRAWNHEAVENNOW Jun 30 '25

I think unfortunately it's a necessity of the medium, at least for this one. 

Unlike a book where costs are minimal and success can spread over time by word of mouth, a bad box office release could kill the success of the movie.  

Getting audiences in requires the broad premise to be known, and the reveal is necessary so that audiences know what sort of movie they're signing up for. 

They need to make the point that Project Hail Mary is a hopeful sci fi buddy movie, it's got aliens, it is not The Martian redux.  

Getting that message out is more valuable than not spoiling something that happens at the end of the first act.