Project Hail Mary - Rocky

In 'Project Hail Mary', directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and based on the novel by Andy Weir, science-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) is on a desperate mission to save the planet from devastation. An eyeless, five-legged alien, which Ryland nicknames Rocky, is on a similar mission to work out what’s happening in space.
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We were thrilled to be approached by Lord and Miller to help with early creature exploration for Rocky. In our sessions with the directors behind the 'Spider-Verse' films (2018), their animation experience informed our development process: how the many segments of Rocky’s spider-like body could move, where there could be an allowance for more fleshy soft-tissue, how he might pick up a tape measure and whether he needed hydraulic legs or opposable thumbs.
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Our artists grounded the design as much in minerals as in movement, exploring different geodes, crystals and heat vents for this creature who runs incredibly warm. We gave Rocky a blueish tint to replicate the striking colour in copper mines, and explored what he might look like if veins of different minerals coursed through his form.
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As for how he generates and captures noise (Rocky communicates using echolocation through musical tones), we experimented with a range of ideas including cavities integrated into his carapace that allow air to pass over them and create sound, much like how one might blow across the mouth of a bottle.
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The final iteration of Rocky was designed and built as a puppet by Neal Scanlan, and performed by puppeteer James Ortiz.
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Art Director: Vaughan Flanagan
Production: Megan Trezise