Ave Maria Project (P.H.M.) is now available in theaters around the world, and whether or not you’ve seen Ryan Gosling’s new sci-fi movie, you might want to know how it ends. I don’t know why you would if you haven’t seen it, but hey, I’m not your dad.
Anyway, I suspect you have big questions about the ending of one of this year’s most exciting new movies. However, please note: Full spoilers follow immediately for P.H.M.. If you don’t want to know anything about its ending, bookmark this page for later, read my Ave Maria Project check it out, go watch it, and then come back to this article.
Do Ryland Grace and/or Rocky die in the Hail Mary Project?
No, PHM’s beloved protagonists live to fight another day, but boy, do they do it well.
Article continues below.
After an unspecified amount of time investigating astrophage (the electromagnetic radiation-eating microorganism that is slowly killing all but one of the stars in the galaxy), Grace and Rocky make a breakthrough. They confirm that the only celestial body that is apparently immune to astrophage, a star called Tau Ceti, definitely is not affected by them.
The reason? A planet orbiting Tau Ceti, which the couple calls ‘Adrian’ after Rocky’s partner (you know, after Rocky and Adrian in the Rocky movies? It doesn’t matter…), it is the home of another microscopic organism that feeds on astrophages.
Although Tau Ceti has a Petrova Line (which is the Astrophage-inhabited infrared line that exists between a planet and its nearest star), the bacteria that exist on Adrian, which Grace calls ‘Taumoeba’, feed on the Astrophage, which in turn prevents them from feeding on Tau Ceti’s radiation.
So Grace and Rocky come up with a plan: descend into Adrian’s atmosphere, get a sample of Taumoeba, raise them in Grace’s spaceship lab, and take the samples to their respective solar systems to cure the stars.
It sounds simple, but it is not. Everything goes according to plan until a breach in the fuel compartment of Grace’s spaceship causes it to spin violently and out of control. Bottom line: the centrifugal action of the speeding spaceship renders Grace unconscious.
Rocky is on the same ship, albeit in a protective ball (he and Grace can’t survive in the atmosphere of each other’s ship), so he escapes said capsule to save Grace… but it comes at a cost. The ship’s atmosphere severely damages Rocky, and when a nearly recovered Grace wakes up days later, neither he nor the audience know Rocky’s fate.
Grace frantically searches for her adorable alien best friend and finds Rocky seriously injured and immobile. Grace keeps an eye on her friend and continues to raise enough Taumoeba for the couple in hopes that Rocky will wake up soon.
Luckily, we were all saved from watching our new favorite alien die. Finally, to the delight of all who will see it. P.H.M.Rocky recovers from his injuries and, in a very touching scene, he and Grace embrace, albeit with one of the protective walls of Rocky’s capsule between them.
Why doesn’t Ryland Grace return to Earth in Project Hail Mary?
Grace tells Rocky what she’s been up to, and after an emotional goodbye, the duo part ways, but it’s not the last time they cross paths.
Traveling back to Earth using fuel derived from the astrophages that Rocky gave her, Grace soon realizes that the Taumoeba have evolved. Worse yet, they have adapted to eating the containers Grace stored them in. Said vessels are made of xenonite, the alien substance that Rocky’s ship is made of, so Taumoeba will not only consume the fuel derived from the astrophage on Rocky’s trip home, but also the ship itself.
So, Grace has to make a decision: return to Earth knowing she let Rocky die, or find her friend in the vastness of space and help him return to his home world, Erid.
Surprising no one, Grace chooses the latter. Sending the Taumoeba back to Earth on the space probes her ship was equipped with, Grace sets off to locate Rocky. Sure enough, Grace finds her spider-like alien friend, explains the situation to him, and promises to bring Rocky home safely.
In the final minutes of the Amazon film, we learn that the probes have returned to Earth (now trapped by icy conditions due to the slow waning of the Sun) with the Taumoeba intact. There, Eva Stratt, who hired Ryland Grace in the first place, has collected the probes and is preparing to release the Taumoeba into the Astrophage, thus saving our star.
Meanwhile, on Erid, we see Grace wake up in a biodome, one forged from xenonite and parts of her spaceship, and Rocky greets her at the door of his house. After the pair take a walk on one of Erid’s beaches and discuss whether it is time for Grace to return to Earth, he makes the decision to stay before leaving to teach science to a group of Erid schoolchildren.
Is there a mid-credits or post-credits scene in Project Hail Mary?
No, there is no end credits scene to linger over. As I always say, you should watch the end of a movie to appreciate everyone who worked on it. But, again, I’m not one of your parents, so you are.
Will there be a Ave Maria 2 Project?
No. Ave Maria Project is a near-perfect adaptation of science fiction author Andy Weir’s book of the same name. This novel is an autonomous story that, to date, has no sequel. In short: unless Weir writes a follow-up book (and I don’t know why he would), there won’t be a Ave Maria Project 2.
That’s not to say that there aren’t more books written by Weir that have received, or will receive, the big-screen retelling treatment.
On the one hand, The MartianThe 2016 science fiction film starring Matt Damon was the first of Weir’s three major literary works to be reinvented for the big screen. Obviously, this was followed by 2026. Ave Maria Project.
The only book yet to be adapted is, well, Sagebrushpublished in 2017. Ave Maria Project Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have already expressed interest in directing a film adaptation of that novel (according to The Hollywood Reporter). In the same article, the duo say there is already a “lovely” script ready to be filmed when the time comes.
For his part, Weir told Den of Geek that he would like to see Jenna Ortega play his lead character, Jazz, but it’s unclear if his wish will come true. Weir says a studio would need to throw a lot of cash at him, in addition to Lord and Miller, to make his vision of Sagebrush. So, don’t hold your breath, because it will be done soon.
For more P.H.M. coverage, find out how many times Rocky was styled before achieving his final look for Ave Maria Project. After that get all the information Ave Maria Project Filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s favorite sci-fi films, one of which is a John Carpenter film you’ve probably never heard of.
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