Project Hail Mary is easily one of the best movie releases of the year, starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Featuring all kinds of great heart and humor amid world-ending stakes, more than a few lines that have already become iconic.
The unlikely friendship formed between Gosling’s Doctor Ryland Grace and the extraterrestrial alien he dubs Rocky gives Project Hail Mary an incredibly unique personality, separating it from more serious sci-fi adventures (in the best way possible). Working together to save their worlds from the same cosmic threat, it feels impossible not to love and be entertained by their bond. However, there are also some great lines from Gosling well before he’s sent into space against his will.
Keeping all that in mind, here are 10 of the very best Project Hail Mary quotes that have already become incredibly popular and beloved (in no particular order).
“So It’s Like, The Honeymoon Phase.” (Grace)
While bonding and wanting to know more about about Rocky and his life on Erid, Grace learns that Rocky has a mate whom he’s been with for over 180 years, prompting Ryland to joke that they’re still in the honeymoon phase. While Rocky not understanding the joke makes it even funnier, Rocky then saying that 186 years still isn’t enough time with the person he loves is incredibly heartwarming, one of many moments that justifies viewers repeatedly crying over a talking rock.
While running experiments and tests for the government before leaving Earth, Grace interacts with the single-celled organisms that are gradually dimming the sun, which he names “astrophage.” Incredibly excited by what is essentially first-contact with extraterrestrial life, the moment becomes incredibly funny after his specimen suddenly dies to his confusion, completely undercutting the moment.
“Carl And I Made A Baby” (Grace)
During his experiments on Earth, Ryland is assisted by Carl, a security officer and government handler played by The Bear’s Lionel Boyce. After a shopping trip to Home Depot and eating several bags of sour Skittles, Carl and Grace successfully figure out how to breed and cultivate the astrophage, prompting Grace’s hilarious phone call to Eva Stratt that he and Carl “made a baby” (with no opening context).
“Words Of GREAT Encouragement!” (Rocky)
Rocky’s enthusiasm is never diminished by his lack of understanding when it comes to his grasp the human language. Case in point, Rocky’s attempts to encourage Grace results in the simple phrase: “words of encouragement.” When Grace tries to correct him saying he can’t just say “words of encouragement,” “Words of great encouragement” is what he gets. It’s adorable, it’s hilarious, and it’s just one of Rocky’s many endearing moments in Project Hail Mary.
“I’m Not An Astronaut! I Put The ‘Not’ In Astronaut!” (Grace)
Grace’s lack of confidence and fear of actually going into space is one of the most critical parts of his character and journey in Project Hail Mary, as he actually has to be sedated and forcibly put on the ship for the sake of humanity at large. As such, this line comes right after he’s initially asked to join the crew. Speaking to his lack of training, this response to the massive responsibility being thrust upon him is as funny as it is highly relatable.
“I Have An Idea. First, No Crash. Then, No Explode. Deal?” (Rocky)
This is one of the most perfect Rocky quotes in Project Hail Mary, representing just how endearingly sincere he is. Despite Grace dealing with an incredibly complicated orbital maneuver that risks crashing or exploding due to extreme stress and pressure, Rocky helpfully gives a simple plan to simply not do those things. The sequence also features their shared thumbs down gesture (serving as the best Rocky could do with a thumbs up).
“Fist My Bump” (Rocky/Grace)
Speaking of gestures and misunderstanding human social conventions, one of the best evolutions of Grace and Rocky’s friendship is a fist bump. However, Rocky doesn’t quite have the “fist bump” name down, hence the hilarious request to “Fist my bump”, which of course sounds like something completely different. While Grace does his best to make that clear, Rocky is adamant that it’s the same thing. As funny as it is, Grace ultimately going with it is the best symbol of their bond, having found means of communicating in unique ways all their own.
“He Has Incredible Hearing. He Can See Through Walls. Personal Space Is At A Premium…/”Who Is Grace Talking To Question?”(Grace/Rocky)
Perhaps one of the funniest (and probbably most highly memed) exchanges between Grace and Rocky is when Ryland is recording footage for those back on Earth, explaining Rocky’s impressive extraterrestrial biology and senses. Because Rocky is capable of seeing through walls and hearing even the most slight of whispers, Grace hilariously bemoans the fact that he virtually has zero privacy on board the ship. Then, Rocky has perfect timing when he asks what Grace is doing, responding to Ryland’s whispered questions despite being across the ship. Without a doubt, it’s one of the best examples highlighting Project Hail Mary’s buddy film DNA.
“Time Go Fishing, Question?” (Rocky)
Across the board, Rocky’s dialogue and syntax in Project Hail Mary is uniquely simple and to the point, hence the memorable “Time go fishing?” question to Ryland once they have everything in place to release a collector into planet Adrian’s atmosphere to gather new astrophage samples. Despite preparing for one of the most intense sequences in the entire movie, Rocky’s question is all kinds of endearing while also proving the trust he and Grace have built as they’ve learned to communicate and work together to save their respective worlds from the organisms eating their suns.
“Time Go Fishing” is also the name of the track composed by Daniel Pemberton for the same sequence, one of the most intense scenes in the entire movie.
“AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!” (Rocky)
The rest of the aforementioned quotes weren’t in any particular order. However, it feels almost impossible to choose anything other than Rocky’s “AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!” for the top spot and the very best quote from Project Hail Mary. The phrase perfectly encapsulates everything that makes Rocky such an adorable and charmingly memorable science-fiction character to begin with. Also, the name of one of Pemberton’s tracks, “AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE!” is just one of those perfect catchphrases the internet was inevitably going to gravitate towards (and I’m not complaining in the slightest).
Unlike other sci-fi movies, which can be full of constant suspense and tension, Project Hail Mary’s greatest strength is not only the bond between Grace and Rocky, but also the impressive amount of genuine wonder and discovery to be had in spite of all the high stakes and danger that has to be dealt with at the same time. Obviously, “AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE” couldn’t be more of a genuine and pure expression of said wonder.
- Release Date
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March 15, 2026
- Runtime
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157 minutes
- Director
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Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
