It’s no surprise that “Project Hail Mary” became such a box office success in 2026. There’s so much to like about Chris Lord and Phil Miller’s adaptation of Andy Weir’s 2021 novel, from the performances and humor to the stunning visuals. It turns out, however, that one of the most breathtaking shots in the entire movie was deemed unnecessary by Weir himself, who also suggested cutting a scene in which we get an insight into the headspace of Sandra Hüller’s Eva Stratt.
The first cut of “Project Hail Mary” was four hours long and received brutal feedback. Thankfully Lord and Miller were ultimately able to prune the film to a more lean (but still considerable) 2 hours and 36 minutes. But it seems they didn’t get there by listening to Weir. The author spoke to /Film about his involvement in the editing process, which seems to have consisted of attempting to cut scenes which went on to become some viewers’ favorite moments in the entire film. Thankfully, Weir seems to be aware of his questionable directing judgement.
“What I’ve learned from the process of ‘PHM’ is that I belong writing novels and I should never be a director,” he said. “Because there were scenes in the movie that I argued we should cut that are people’s favorite scenes.” When asked for examples, the writer pointed to the moment Ryan Gosling’s Ryland Grace carries out a space walk as the Hail Mary passes through the Petrova Line. In this moment the music swells and suddenly Grace is surrounded by a glowing pink dust in one of the movie’s most spectacular scenes. Turns out, Weir wanted it gone.
Andy Weir wanted to cut one of the most stirring scenes in Project Hail Mary
Given the original cut was unwieldy to say the least, Phil Lord and Chris Miller ended up with a bunch of “Project Hail Mary” deleted scenes. Thankfully, one of them wasn’t the moment in which Ryland Grace finds himself immersed in a cloud of astrophage, the fictional light-absorbing alien microbe that threatens to destroy Earth’s sun. The scene in question is a beautiful sequence, and one that played particularly well on the big screen. For Andy Weir, however, it was sort of pointless in terms of the overall narrative.
The author told /Film that he suggested cutting the entire thing: “First off, the [scene] where [Grace is] having a moment and you can see all the astrophage around him and there’s beautiful music playing. I’m like, ‘Yeah, cool, but we should cut it because it doesn’t advance the plot.'” That’s technically true, but there’s so much more to the scene that makes it worthwhile. At first, however, Weir couldn’t see that, and had a scientific reason as to why the entire sequence didn’t make any sense. “It’s like he’s just sitting out there and he wouldn’t be able to see that anyway,” he continued. “He can’t see infrared. So this doesn’t even make sense. This is dumb. We should get rid of it.”
Predictably, this gorgeous shot — which as revealed in an IMAX Instagram account video was mostly captured in camera using actual infrared lights and some ingenious on-set contraptions — quickly became a fan-favorite moment. “So many people are like, ‘What a beautiful scene. I love this scene,'” added Weir. “So that’s why I don’t belong as a director, and I should be kept away from any editing bays.”
Andy Weir didn’t have time for karaoke in Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir wasn’t only convinced the astrophage sequence should be cut from “Project Hail Mary.” He also didn’t see the point in the scene wherein Sandra Hüller’s Eva Stratt, head of the Petrova Taskforce and director of Project Hail Mary, sings karaoke. “I wanted to get rid of the karaoke scene,” said Weir. “[…] again, I’m like, ‘Guys, we’re running long. This is a long movie, and we’re just going to have Stratt singing karaoke, which seems a little iffy for the character of Stratt that I had in mind anyway. Let’s cut it.'” According to the writer, he immediately faced pushback. “They’re like, ‘Hell no, we’re not cutting it. This is awesome,'” he continued. “Everyone who watched the movie agrees it’s awesome. So I mean, this is a recurring pattern for me.”
Interestingly enough, this now popular “Project Hail Mary” scene wasn’t originally in the movie, but the directors found a way to add it. That’s a good thing, as it serves as a succinct way to sum up Stratt’s inner turmoil over sending a man to certain death in order to save the world.
Interestingly enough, it seems this wasn’t the first time Weir has been proved wrong when it comes to his initial take on movie adaptations of his novels. The author revealed that when he first saw the cover art for the 2015’s adaptation of his book “The Martian” he wasn’t impressed. “I’m like, ‘I don’t like it,'” he recalled. “Then it won awards for the astronaut falling backwards in the red dust. It was […] evocative, everybody agreed, ‘What an amazing cover. They did such a great job.’ So I should just not be put in charge of anything that’s visual.”
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