Andy Weir finally spoke out about the film adaptation of ‘Project Hail Mary‘, and he has one thing he wishes had gone differently. The film was released on March 20 and is currently doing well in theaters.
The novelist appeared on a recent podcast where he admitted that a major scene from the book was cut, even though he and the screenwriter Drew Goddard tried to save it.
Andy Weir Admits His One “Regret” About the Movie
During an appearance on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast StarTalk, Weir said, “My only regret — and Drew and I both fought for this — Drew Goddard wrote the adaptation, did a fantastic job. And he and I both wanted this one scene and we just didn’t have time for it because the runtime was going so long.”
Related: Will ‘Project Hail Mary 2’ Happen? Andy Weir Shares Major Update After Ryan Gosling’s Sci-Fi Hit
The scene that got cut is pretty wild. In the book, Earth’s governments set off nuclear bombs under an ice shelf in Antarctica. They wanted the ice to collapse into the ocean and melt, thereby releasing methane. Since methane is a greenhouse gas, it would trap heat and deliberately warm the planet. With the sun getting dimmer, they needed to buy time.
Why the Antarctica Scene Was Cut from the ‘Project Hail Mary’ Film
Weir thought it would look amazing on screen. “It would have been pretty cool in a cinematic setting, to be able to show a bunch of nuclear explosions going off, and an ice shelf collapsing into the ocean,” he said in another interview. But the movie already runs over two hours, and the main story focuses on astronaut Ryland Grace, played by Ryan Gosling, and his friendship with an alien named Rocky. That part needed all the screen time it could get.
In case you missed it: What Really Happened to Ryland Grace on Erid? His Survival After ‘Project Hail Mary’ Explained
Goddard, who also adapted Weir’s ‘The Martian’, agreed with the cut even though he loved the scene. “The scene where they realized they have to nuke Antarctica, I thought that was such a bold story choice,” he said. “It suggested the desperation that we found ourselves in. It spoke to the larger themes. I loved it, but we didn’t have the screen time to do it. I was the one who was like, ‘I think we’ve got to cut it, guys.’ But I’m still sad about it.”
How the ‘Project Hail Mary’ Movie Stays Faithful to Andy Weir’s Book
The movie has done really well so far. It made $80 million in the US in its opening weekend. Audiences have praised how it stays true to the book, along with its visuals, and the acting, especially Gosling’s and the puppet work for Rocky. Weir has been involved since Gosling signed on in 2020. He said the movie still feels like the book, even without that scene.
“You can’t have everything in the book,” he said. “You have to pick the most critical story elements.”
Fans who have read the novel have already been discussing the cut scene online and whether a director’s cut might bring it back one day. For now, Weir seems okay with how the movie turned out.
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