Special effects are an essential part of just about any Hollywood production these days—but even more so when it comes to sci-fi movies set in the fantastical realms of outer space. Project Hail Mary is the latest example of this, arriving in theaters March 20, but directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) want to make it clear that while their movie does use visual effects, it deliberately veered away from relying on green screen to create its environments.
Instead, as many practical sets and effects were used as possible, the duo explained in a recent interview with ComicBook.com.
“There is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used,” Miller said. Green and blue screens—in very simple terms, the color used depends on the lighting in the scene—allow filmmakers to fill in backgrounds in place of sets or landscapes.
“The whole ship was built as a set from the inside,” Miller continued, describing the spaceship where Ryan Gosling’s space traveler spends a lot of his time in Project Hail Mary. “We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built. [The alien character] Rocky was really with us at all times. That’s what makes it feel real and makes it feel natural … and the way that [cinematographer Greig Fraser’s] team lit with a lot of practical lights allowed him to move the camera wherever and find these moments.”
And speaking of Rocky, while there is (obviously) plenty of CG used in Project Hail Mary, making the alien feel like an authentic presence was crucial to the production.
“Holistically, from his design that started before we even had a script, to physically printing him out and painting him and having him move in ways that were expressive, and to the CG artists and animators that took the baton … and kept being expressive and bring their own personality to it,” Lord said of Rocky’s creation. “It’s emblematic of what happens through the whole movie.”
Following the publication of ComicBook.com’s interview, Miller took to social media to offer further clarity on his statements.
Some clarification here: “no green screen” doesn’t mean “no VFX”.
There were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!)
Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully,… pic.twitter.com/m5LWzuhTT7
— Christopher Miller (@chrizmillr) March 4, 2026
“Some clarification here: ‘no green screen’ doesn’t mean ‘no VFX,’” Miller wrote. “There were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!)”
“Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully, and is something we didn’t want to do,” he continued. “We built the entire interior of the Hail Mary ship—but within the ship, there were still wire and puppeteer removals and ceiling replacements, etc. When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would. The wide space exteriors and spaceship shots were entirely digital and beautifully done by ILM. Rocky was a seamless blend of puppetry and animation from Framestore. And other great work from many more. It really does take a village and we had the best of the best on our side.”
Lord agreed in his own post, echoing Miller’s praise for the Project Hail Mary VFX team.
Correct! there were thousands of visual effects shots both practical AND cg. Rocky for example is a mixture of both puppetry and amazing work by @arslanelver and team at @framestore and every exterior space shot was made masterfully at @ILMVFX !!!
— Phil Lord (@philiplord) March 4, 2026
“Correct! there were thousands of visual effects shots both practical AND cg. Rocky for example is a mixture of both puppetry and amazing work by @arslanelver and team at @framestore and every exterior space shot was made masterfully at @ILMVFX !!!,” Lord wrote.
Project Hail Mary blasts off March 20.
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