Ryan Gosling’s latest film, Project Hail Mary, opened in UK cinemas this week, marking the newest release from directing duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The film’s journey to the screen, however, began with a plea to the Directors Guild of America (DGA) to recognize the pair as co-directors – a request that, according to Miller, was met with initial resistance.
Lord and Miller, known for their work on The Lego Movie, the Spider-Verse franchise, and the Jump Street films, sought to have both their names credited as directors, a practice the DGA historically approached with caution, preferring “one set of hands on the steering wheel,” as Miller described it. To secure approval, the duo presented their case before a panel of their peers, including Steven Spielberg and Jon Favreau. “It was like a Senate hearing,” Miller told The Guardian. “All these people asking questions like: ‘All right, but what happens if one of you gets sick? What are you gonna do?’” Spielberg and Favreau ruled in their favor.
The pair’s collaborative approach extends back to their undergraduate days at Dartmouth College, where they met. According to a 2020 DGA interview with Phil Lord, their films have collectively earned over $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office. They operate, as described by The Guardian, as a single unit, often finishing each other’s ideas rather than sentences. Lord acknowledged slight differences in their interests, but emphasized their unified approach to filmmaking.
Project Hail Mary, adapted from Andy Weir’s novel, stars Gosling as Dr. Ryland Grace, a science teacher who awakens on a spaceship with amnesia, tasked with saving Earth from a star-blotting microbe. The film as well features Sandra Hüller as a government agent who recruits Grace for the mission. Gosling, according to Lord, personally sent the pair the screenplay by Drew Goddard, the writer of the film adaptation of Weir’s previous novel, The Martian. “The short answer is: no. That’s not common,” Lord said, acknowledging the unusual nature of receiving a script directly from a major actor.
The film’s visual effects teams collaborated with puppeteers to create “Rocky,” an alien character who becomes Grace’s partner. Lord and Miller highlighted the importance of collaboration, contrasting it with the limitations of artificial intelligence, which they believe can only “regurgitate the average of things that have arrive before it.” They pointed to a scene where Hüller’s character spontaneously performs a karaoke rendition of Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” as an example of the happy accidents that arise from a collaborative environment.
Lord and Miller’s previous work, including The Lego Movie, has been described as containing utopian messages within mass-entertainment products. Project Hail Mary, they suggest, emphasizes the power of communication and empathy in solving seemingly impossible problems.
The duo’s path hasn’t been without obstacles. They were famously dismissed from directing the Star Wars prequel Solo over creative differences in 2017, a situation they acknowledge could happen to anyone. “Talk to any film-makers who are a generation ahead of us – they all have war stories,” Lord stated. They maintain a pragmatic outlook, viewing setbacks as learning opportunities.
As of March 20, 2026, Project Hail Mary is in its opening run in UK cinemas.
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