Project Hail Mary's Best Scene Is One Of The Greatest In 21st Century Sci-Fi Movies

Published Nov 14, 2026, 8:30 AM EST

Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release.

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Through the best Project Hail Mary quotes, the film's remarkable characters, its stunning visuals, and the balanced tone, the film is jam-packed with excellent scenes. There are incredibly moving moments like Ryland and Rocky's goodbye or Sandra Hüller's Eva Stratt singing Harry Styles' "Sign of the Times," as well as all the fun that comes when the scientist and alien begin interacting.

The film's greatest moments stack up well with the best sci-fi movie scenes of the century. The docking sequence in Interstellar, the sandstorm chase in Mad Max: Fury Road, Everything Everywhere All at Once's ending, or the sandworm riding scene in Dune: Part Two are among the greatest, and one sequence in Project Hail Mary is just as good, if not better, than these.

Project Hail Mary delivers a showstopping sequence at the start of the third act. The so-called Adrian scene is an absolutely amazing 11 minutes that most sci-fi movies can't even touch, and it shows exactly why the movie is so special.

Project Hail Mary's Adrian Scene Is A Stunning Sci-Fi Moment

After coming to Planet Adrian (previously known as Tau Ceti-e), collecting Astrophage samples, and finding life in the planet's atmosphere, Ryland and Rocky embark on a risky mission to harvest the Astrophage-killing organism to save their civilizations. Starting 1 hour and 44 minutes into the movie, what comes next is absolutely mesmerizing.

The mission starts off rather smoothly as Ryland flies the ship into position and Rocky drops the probe into Adrian's atmosphere. It's then up to Grace to go into space to retrieve the probe once the collection process is over. But this is where things start to get more dangerous, as the ship starts descending too far into Adrian's atmosphere, resulting in damage.

After getting knocked down by some debris and recovering the probe, Grace makes it back inside the ship and flies him and Rocky to safety, or so they think. They soon realize that there is a breach in two of the fuel compartments, forcing the ship's gravity to change from the excessive centrifugal force.

With Grace lodged between the control panels and his seat, he loses consciousness before ejecting both fuel compartments. Rocky chooses to leave his specially made ball to eject the final pod, fix the gravity, and save Grace, even as exposure to the ship's oxygen hurts him.

The Adrian Sequence Is Everything Great About Project Hail Mary

While this was never at risk of being one of Project Hail Mary's deleted scenes, it perfectly encapsulates why the movie is a modern sci-fi masterpiece. It's nearly 11 minutes of pure perfection from its visuals, storytelling, characters, and general approach to this genre.

This is hands down the most tense sequence of Project Hail Mary. Watching as Grace and Rocky risk their lives in different circumstances to accomplish the mission is thrilling, and the movie's ability to make you care so deeply for them before this just makes it work even better. It helps that their caring relationship and humorous back-and-forth are still featured despite the stakes, such as Rocky simply saying "Words of encouragement" as Grace leaves the ship.

There are absolutely gorgeous shots sprinkled throughout the scene, with some of cinematographer Greig Fraser's best work in the movie happening here. Adrian's green glow creates a great backdrop for Grace's spacewalk. The movie combines the practical elements of the set with VFX seamlessly to make it feel real, which is also aided by how it implements hard science.

It's impossible not to be completely transfixed by the Adrian sequence in Project Hail Mary. The movie doesn't get any better than this when it comes to demonstrating Ryland and Rocky's relationship, hard science, and its combination of humor, thrills, and action.

Release Date March 15, 2026

Runtime 157 minutes

Director Christopher Miller, Phil Lord

Writers Drew Goddard, Andy Weir

Producers Aditya Sood, Amy Pascal, Andy Weir, Christopher Miller, Phil Lord, Rachel O'Connor, Ryan Gosling

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  James Ortiz

  Rocky (voice)