Project Hail Mary Author Reveals Why That Twist Ending Is So Essential

The story of Project Hail Mary is largely successful because of how relatable and likable the hero, Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), is. Both the 2021 Andy Weir novel and the new film from directors Christopher Miller and Phil Lord weaponize the underdog charm of Dr. Grace to ensure that the planet-saving high stakes of the film are felt in the heart as well as the head. While Project Hail Mary is considered a work of “hard” science fiction, its success lives and dies on its humanistic themes and our love of Ryland Grace as a selfless hero. And yet, a late-in-the-game revelation casts Grace in a different light, and outside of any space alien antics, one twist defines the ending of Project Hail Mary more than anything else.

Here’s what happens at the very end of Project Hail Mary: how a twist just before that ending totally changes everything, and why author Andy Weir says that this plot point was baked into the story from day one.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Project Hail Mary.

Project Hail Mary Ending Explained

The very end of Project Hail Mary reveals that Ryland Grace is living on the planet Erid with his alien pal Rocky (James Ortiz). The Eridians have built Grace an entire enclosed biodome, complete with a beach and ocean water. This is a slight change from the book in which Grace’s enclosure on Erid was humbler, and he was much older. The movie also suggests that his ship, The Hail Mary, can be sent back to Earth at some point, which isn’t telegraphed out in the book.

However, just like the ending of the book, Grace is teaching young little Eridians all about science, continuing his career as a middle school science teacher at the beginning of the novel. It’s a warm, happy ending, which is an interesting contrast to the revelation that happens a bit earlier in the movie — a darker moment, which makes it clear that Grace wasn’t always as brave as he appears.

Why The Ryland Grace Twist Is So Crucial

Throughout the film (as in the novel), Grace has partial amnesia, partly because of the lengthy induced coma, and also because of specific substances given to him by Stratt (Sandra Hüller). The book is structured much like the film: When Grace remembers details about the events on Earth leading up to the mission, the audience/reader learns of those things, too. And the gut-punch of all the revelations is that it turns out Grace straight-up refused to go on the suicide mission, and even ran from authorities and had to be forced into the coma that took him into space. For Andy Weir, creator of Project Hail Mary, this character moment, where Grace behaves as a coward in the past and a hero in the present, was a key plot point in the book, and the one thing that made Grace a fully-rounded character.

“I wanted to start with a core basis of almost a pathological fear of conflict and build that into him,” Weir tells Inverse. “He’s kind of a lonely guy initially. He doesn't really have any close acquaintances or friends. And then he ends up with someone that he cares about enough that he's willing to risk his life.” Weir is, of course, referring to the bond between Grace and Rocky, the friendship and partnership that helps transform Grace into a hero. But because the events of the story aren’t told in a strictly linear fashion, we learn that Grace resisted the call to adventure at first, which retroactively makes us realize he’s become braver and more selfless.

In Joseph Campbell's theories about the monomyth, the “hero’s journey” generally involves a moment early in the story in which a character declines to go on the adventure at first. This is sometimes called “Refusal of the Call,” which is why in Star Wars (1977), Luke Skywalker initially whines and tells Obi-Wan Kenobi that he “can’t get involved” but then is forced to be involved when his aunt and uncle are murdered. This storytelling technique is also why Frodo tries to give the Ring back to Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, and why the Doctor in Doctor Who is often so grumpy and dismissive at first.

In Project Hail Mary, Grace resists the call to adventure, but that revelation is retroactive for the audience.

“He resisted the call, but the call overcame his resistance,” Weir explains. “He didn't choose to go.”

In short, the charm of Ryan Gosling can only take us so far. What humanizes Grace is that we recognize that many of us would also do exactly what he does during this flashback: run away.

“I think we can all empathize with the idea of feeling overwhelmed, unqualified, and scared,” Weir says. “That’s what I was shooting for. It’s critical that we empathize with the main character and feel for the main character and root for them.”

With Ryland Grace and Project Hail Mary, Weir achieved that goal and then some. You could say that this is an old storytelling trick. But the way it unfolds in the movie is a shocking and moving revelation.

Project Hail Mary is out in theaters now.