After Project Hail Mary, Completing Sci-Fi's Best Unofficial Trilogy Would Be Even Bigger Now

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Ryan Gosling's Ryland Grace is moving through space in Project Hail Mary

Published Aug 31, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

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.

He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years.

Project Hail Mary is part of an unofficial sci-fi trilogy that Hollywood needs to complete after the Ryan Gosling movie's sweeping success. The film's narrative and hero, Ryland Grace, are fresh additions to the sci-fi movie canon, with this intergalactic alien adventure not serving as a direct prequel, sequel, or spinoff to an existing big-screen franchise.

But Project Hail Mary has a different legacy tie by being an adaptation of the sci-fi novel written by Andy Weir. The book arrived in 2021 following the success that Hollywood had in turning his debut novel, The Martian, into an award-winning, critical darling (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and box office hit ($630 million worldwide) starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott.

Project Hail Mary turned out to be even better with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directing, as it got a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and made $684 million at the box office. That's left questions about a potential sequel for Grace and Rocky, but it also opens the door for an unofficial trilogy of sci-fi movies based on Weir's novels to happen.

Between writing The Martian and Project Hail Mary, Weir penned Artemis, an original sci-fi story set on the moon that follows a young girl named Jazz who becomes intertwined in the fight for control of the moon city. Lord and Miller became attached to a film adaptation in 2017 before the book was even published, but they later chose to make Project Hail Mary first. That could be a blessing for them to complete the unofficial trilogy.

Artemis Would Likely Be A Major Hit After Project Hail Mary

Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace leaning forward in Project Hail Mary

The success that Project Hail Mary experienced creates more confidence that Hollywood could go three-for-three with Weir book adaptations by tackling Artemis. The 2026 movie proved that The Martian's success wasn't a fluke. Audiences have come to understand that movies based on Weir's writings can become masterpiece-level sci-fi releases.

It's easy to leave Project Hail Mary wanting more, which is why sequel questions have been so common. But an Artemis movie adaptation is a plausible option to be a similar success. This story is a bit different from The Martian and Project Hail Mary, as it isn't as comedic or focused on a lonely human in space, but rather a girl in a heist-like plot.

The differences Artemis has wouldn't be enough to prevent it from being a major hit. The marketing can lean directly into the success of past Weir adaptations, making sure audiences know that this is from the same author. Meanwhile, as long as Lord and Miller stay on to direct, Artemis can build on Project Hail Mary's success by communicating it comes from the same filmmaking team.

Why An Artemis Adaptation Needs To Happen (& Will It?)

A spaceship near a green and orange planet in Project Hail Mary

Since an Artemis movie has been in development for nine years already, it would be a real shame if it never came to fruition. Lord and Miller clearly demonstrated with Project Hail Mary that they have the ability to make the sci-fi thriller in a way that would make it wildly entertaining and successful, while also changing anything from the book that wouldn't translate well to the screen.

Artemis also remains the only Weir book that has not been adapted so far. He is working on other stories and ideas, including considering a Project Hail Mary sequel book, but a film adaptation of whatever he writes next would still be years away. Artemis is complete and able to become a movie as soon as Lord and Miller and the studio (20th Century Studios in this case) are ready.

There have been no firm updates on the status of the Artemis movie in the wake of Project Hail Mary's success, but Lord and Miller have maintained that they still plan on making the film down the line. They even told ScreenRant they figured out how to film Artemis and do the moon's gravity practically.

Whether it will be their next movie after Project Hail Mary remains to be seen. But, one would think Disney and 20th Century would be eager to get this project moving forward to capitalize on the success and get a piece of this unofficial trilogy.