'Project Hail Mary' Brings In Composer Daniel Pemberton, First Footage Released
Image Source: IMDb
As confirmed at San Diego Comic Con, award-winning film composer Daniel Pemberton will provide the film’s musical score. Daniel Pemberton has slowly but surely made his mark as one of the most reliable and interesting film composers of the last decade. Even though he has been working since 2002, Pemberton’s breakout work came in 2015, with acclaimed scores for Guy Richie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs. Other notable scores in Pemberton’s filmography include Guy Richie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn, and Cathy Yan’s Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emmancipation of One Harley Quinn).
Daniel Pemberton is also the go-to composer for acclaimed writer-turned-director Aaron Sorkin, scoring all three of his directorial efforts thus far: Molly’s Game, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Being the Ricardos. Pemberton has also composed three scores this year: Celine Song’s Materialists, Ari Aster’s Eddington, and Pierre Perifel’s The Bad Guys 2. He was also a co-composer for the critically acclaimed video game LittleBigPlanet and its first sequel. While Pemberton has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score, he has received one for Best Original Song for Hear My Voice from The Trial of the Chicago 7, which he co-wrote with Celeste. Also, prominent musicians that Pemberton has worked with on songs for feature films and television shows include Charlotte Lawrence, Anthony Ramos, Drake, and Mick Jagger.
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Image Source": Variety
Perhaps Daniel Pemberton’s biggest claim to fame came in 2018, providing the score for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which was produced and co-written by Phil Lord & Chris Miller. Pemberton would return to score the film’s sequel, Across the Spider-Verse. Known for blending heroic orchestration, hip-hop, rock, and diverse cultural sounds, Pemberton’s work for the Spider-Verse franchise has garnered widespread critical and fan acclaim. Pemberton’s themes for Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy are among his most beloved compositions. His themes for The Prowler and Miguel O’Hara have not only received similar amounts of love but have also become prominent internet memes. Pemberton’s score for Across the Spider-Verse received multiple award nominations, including a Golden Globe, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest superhero movie scores of all time, one of the best film scores of the 2020s, and among the greatest film scores of the 21st Century. Pemberton has been confirmed to return for the final installment, Beyond the Spider-Verse..
Project Hail Mary is the highly anticipated film adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name. The story centers on Ryland Grace, an astronaut who has lost his memory of his mission and his own identity. After a mission to the Tau Ceti solar system goes awry, Ryland figures out that he’s not exactly alone in the universe. Footage was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con last night, showcasing scenes from the first third of the film, including the opening of the book where a mysterious female voice asks Ryland math questions
The novel was written by Andy Weir, who also wrote the critically acclaimed science fiction novel The Martian, which was adapted into a film directed by Ridley Scott in 2015. Phil Lord & Chris Miller directed the film adaptation of Project Hail Mary, marking their first completed film since their double-duty work in 2014 on 22 Jump Street and The Lego Movie. Lord & Miller were initially set to direct Solo: A Star Wars Story, until they were let go from the project due to their unconventional work ethic and creative differences with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan. They were credited as executive producers and received credit for hiring composer John Powell, whose score for the film was considered to be the best aspect of it.
The screenplay was penned by Drew Goddard, best known for writing Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods (Goddard’s feature directorial debut), and the aforementioned adaptation of The Martian, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film is set to star Academy Award nominees Ryan Gosling and Sandra Hüller, as well as Milana Vayntrub. Gosling also acts as producer alongside Lord & Miller, Amy Pascal, and Andy Weir. Greig Fraser acts as the director of photography. Fraser is best known for his work on films such as Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty, Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He also worked as the cinematographer for Denis Villuneve’s Dune films, and won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography for the first film. Fraser is not expected to return for the third Dune film due to scheduling conflicts with The Batman: Part II.
Project Hail Mary is one of many films on Amazon-MGM’s 2026 slate and is expected to be a massive hit. Film commenters on social media have shared reports that the film has received exceptionally high scores at test screenings and is expected to be a major awards contender in 2027. The film’s first trailer garnered over 400 million views across multiple social media platforms, becoming the most-watched trailer for a movie that is neither a sequel nor a remake.
Project Hail Mary will be released on March 20th, 2026.
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Sources: Deadline, Film Music Reporter
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