To say that Project Hail Mary is a satisfying movie is an understatement. It's likely to hold a spot among the best movies on the 2026 movie schedule. And the fact that it's a satisfying book-to-screen adaptation is kind of a miracle, given how much I love the book. All of that said, for as much as I love the movie and for as many times as I've watched it, there are plenty of questions I've been wondering about, and I finally found answers to a few of them. Following the Blu-ray release of Project Hail Mary, I sat down and rewatched the movie, this time with the audio commentary featuring directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. I love a commentary that really dives into the decisions made throughout the making of the movie, and in that respect, Lord and Miller's commentary doesn't disappoint. So let's get into three of the questions I've been sitting on since I first saw the movie, which were answered throughout the commentary...(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)Who Wrote 'Good Luck!' On Ryland Grace's Sleeping Bag?In the very first scene in the film, as Grace is coming out of his coma and regaining control of his faculties, "Armando" (the robot arm that assists Grace) tugs the sleeping bag off of him and sets it down. We get a quick glimpse of the words "Good luck!" written in black marker on the bag. The first time I saw the movie, I thought maybe there would be a callback to that later – that we'd see who wrote it; however, that was not the case. Lord clarified the source of the writing, and it apparently came from the astronauts on the International Space Station:The idea was that the astronauts who sent Ryland Grace here from the ISS wrote it on the bag before they shipped him off.Before learning this, I'd guessed that maybe it was Stratt or Carl, but apparently not. Presumably, Grace, Yao and Ilyukhina made a pit stop at the ISS before embarking on their years-long flight. I don't recall the ISS being referenced in the movie, but it makes sense that the interstellar ship would be docked there. Of course, Grace wouldn't have any memory of that, as he was likely unconscious for the whole transfer process. (Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)What Exactly Are The Golden Plaques On The Walls Of The Hail Mary?Also near the start of the film, we see a bedraggled Grace shuffling around the ship and stopping to look at the engraved metal plates set on the walls of one area. It's clear they tell a story through the images, and seem to depict the advancements of man, from walking upright to traveling to space. I got the general idea of why they were there, but still wondered if there was more to it than that, and Lord and Miller provided some clarity:Chris Miller: "This room, we call the room of golden records. The idea was, there's all these golden placards about Earth and..." Phil Lord: "In case this is the last record of the planet, if the mission were to fail, this ship would be an ark by which to understand society. And we thought it would be full of culture and art, this ship..." Given that the Hail Mary was on a one-way mission and a last-ditch effort to save Earth, the director's explanation for the plaques really drives home just how dire the situation was. Should the mission fail, these plaques (and Grace's laptop) would've provided a record of humanity -- perhaps the only one left. Should Earth not survive the onslaught of astrophage attacking its sun, at the very least, maybe some lifeforms will discover the Hail Mary someday and learn of man's existence. The scene itself also served a special purpose, as it snapped Grace out of his funk and got him into mission mode. It also got him to shave the beard, according to Miller:And we could use it to inspire Grace to stop feeling sorry for himself, remind him that the world is counting on him, and to start to take action. And get rid of that hair.Remembering you're humanity's last hope would certainly be a good way to kickstart the work that needs to be done (and shave the beard).(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)How Old Is Stratt When We See Her At The End Of The Movie?One of my favorite moments from Project Hail Mary is a scene we didn't – and couldn't – get in the book, and I'm so grateful the directors included it in the movie. Seeing Stratt receive the contents of the Beetles years after she sent an unwilling Grace off to save the world is such a lovely payoff, and part of what makes the film's ending so great. I already knew the answer to the question of what Stratt's tattoo means, but what about her age? Just how many years had passed since Grace left Earth?It's clear when we see Stratt on a boat in a freezing ocean that she's aged a bit. In fact, she's aged over two decades. Lord and Miller address that in the commentary, noting that it's likely she's 25 or 26 years older. It took 13 years for Grace to get to Tau Ceti, and then 12-13 years for the beetles to arrive back to Earth with their cargo. They suggested that the beetles might've been able to move a bit faster than the Hail Mary. It isn't just Stratt's age that I think about when watching this scene; it's really about the wait. She had to wait close to three decades to find out if all of the work she and so many others put in amounted to anything. They wouldn't have even known if any of the astronauts survived the trip, let alone found a solution for the astrophage. What must it have felt like for Stratt to receive the contents of the Beetles? Stratt never struck me as the kind of person to jump for joy at good news, so the sight of her satisfied, closed-mouth smile in response to Grace's video–knowing he survived and figured out a solution, just as she knew he would–is probably as ecstatic as she gets. And once the moment passes, it's time to get to work. There are all sorts of cool facts and tidbits on the Project Hail Mary Blu-ray commentary, including pointing out a couple of scenes where we're seeing Ryan Gosling's genuine reaction. The Blu-ray and 4K-UHD editions are available now at Amazon.