Believe in the Hail Mary

In Project Hail Mary, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and based on the 2021 interstellar novel of the same name by Andy Weir, science-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is on a desperate mission to save the planet from devastation.  

The stakes couldn’t be higher, but Ryland doesn’t have to go through this humanity’s-only-hope assignment alone. An eyeless, five-legged alien, which Ryland nicknames Rocky, due to his rocky skin, is on a similar mission to work out what’s happening in space. 

We were thrilled to be approached by Lord and Miller to help with early creature exploration for this unforgettable character. In our sessions with the directors behind Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and Across the Spider-Verse (2023), their animation experience informed our development process: how the many segments of Rocky’s spider-like body could move, where there could be an allowance for more fleshy soft-tissue, how he might pick up a tape measure and whether he needed hydraulic legs or apposable thumbs.  

Our artists grounded the design as much in minerals as in movement, exploring different geodes, crystals and heat vents for this creature who runs incredibly warm. We gave Rocky a blueish tint to replicate the striking colour in copper mines, and explored what he might look like if veins of different minerals coursed through his form.  

As for how he generates and captures noise (Rocky communicates using echolocation through musical tones), we experimented with a range of ideas including cavities integrated into his carapace that allow air to pass over them and create sound, much like how one might blow across the mouth of a bottle.  

Directors​
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

Release
2026

Genre​
Science fiction