Project Hail Mary Directors Next Movie is Surprisingly Weird

After the gigantic success of Project Hail Mary (2026), Phil Lord and Chris Miller are ready to produce their next sci-fi project, but it has a twist. Project Hail Mary directors next movie isn’t what most fans would expect after their large-scale adventure captivated them.​

Instead, the duo seems to embrace concepts far more unusual yet familiar, blending elements that are typically seen as anomalous. Lord and Miller are venturing into something that could be the most surprising departure from their blockbuster formula, already sparking curiosity across Hollywood.​

What is the Project Hail Mary directors next movie?

The directors are set to produce their next sci-fi film, titled I Promise We’re Cool, a high school comedy with a sci-fi gimmick, according to The Hollywood Reporter. They are not directing it themselves; instead, they have Max Tzannes (Big Bear Lake and Two Niner) on board for the said purpose.​

Tzannes has experience in making award-winning shorts and a debut feature film, Et Tu (2023). His film Found Footage: The Making of the Patterson Project (2025) caught Hollywood’s attention as an indie filmmaker-made found-footage movie focusing on Bigfoot.  ​

The script would be written by Charlie Hall, known for his acting work in The White Lotus (2021-) and Monster: The Ed Gein Story (2025). He is the son of comedians Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall. He has done comedic work in Bel-Air (2022-2025) and Single Drunk Female (2022-2023), which gives him enough credits to be appointed for Lord and Miller’s next comedy film.

Lord and Miller will produce through their company under a deal with Universal Pictures. Other producers include Aditya Sood and Lucy Kitada. Executive producers are Tzannes, Jacob Souza, and David San Miguel.    ​

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Why is it weird?​

First of all, the title itself is weird as “I Promise We’re Cool” sounds awkward, self-conscious, and slightly cringe. Knowing that Phil Lord and Chris Miller have worked on a massive sci-fi hit project, this comes out of nowhere and goes in the opposite direction.

Judging the book by its cover is what we should be avoiding at the moment, especially when scarce details about the project are available. The title’s unconventional nature does not keep us away from it, though. It gives out vibes of vulnerability, and probably, this could be the directors’ aim as well. We don’t doubt Lord and Miller’s creative sensibilities.​

Secondly, after working on huge blockbuster projects like Project Hail Mary (PHM), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and The LEGO Movie (2014), viewers are inevitably expecting a massive studio tentpole. Instead, a relatively small high-school sci-fi tends to feel small.​

Third, the film’s premise that centers on a teenage sci-fi story in contrast to their recent epic space-survival story makes us think, “wait, what?” It might shift to a potentially stranger world of teens where humor might turn things upside down. Though they have earned praise in the comedy genre before with 21 Jump Street (2012) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009), their reputation for handling quirky, offbeat comedy kicks in well. However, their latest prestige sci-fi adaptation has positioned them somewhere else.​

Fourth, while Hollywood is going ga-ga over the new emerging talent, Lord and Miller have also realized their potential and have opted to work with new creatives. Charlie Hall, writing the script while Max Tzannes directs the pic, shows that PHM directors prioritize fresh ideas and are willing to take creative chances. Throughout their careers, Lord and Miller have spotted eccentric concepts, and their collaboration with emerging filmmakers serves as a vote of confidence in them, an approach Hollywood’s biggest producers and studios might often shy away from.