Stories from the set

The film is based on the book Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller wanted Rocky to look as tangible and real as possible, so the character was portrayed by a puppet, and the puppeteer was removed from the frame in post-production. There are only a couple of shots in the film where Rocky is drawn.

Sometimes Ryan Gosling's daughters came to the set and helped film scenes involving Rocky. According to Gosling, when he was interacting with Rocky, he was actually interacting with one of his daughters, whose voice he heard through an earpiece.

For the lead role, only Ryan Gosling was initially considered. His contract for the film was signed back in 2021, shortly after the rights to adapt Andy Weir's novel were acquired.

When Ryan Gosling was trying on different looks and costumes, his daughter happened to be at the studio. She told her father that he looked interesting in glasses — so the actor added glasses to the look.