Project Hail Mary's Best Easter Egg References A Steven Spielberg Alien Movie

Spoilers ahead for "Project Hail Mary."

"Project Hail Mary" is not only the best sci-fi movie of 2026 so far, but one of the best sci-fi movies ever. Phil Lord and Chris Miller manage to balance the sense of whimsy and wonder of their animated work with the humor of their take on "21 Jump Street," and mix them with the sense of spectacle and scale of the "Spider-Verse" movies and the work they did on "Solo" before Lucasfilm replaced them with Ron Howard.

The result is a movie that's entertaining, funny, epic in scope, and full of the emotion that only the best sci-fi movies can conjure. It recognizes the staples of the genre that came before it, tipping the cap to Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of Carl Sagan's "Contact" and Steven Spielberg's "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," as well as more modern films like "The Martian" and "Interstellar."

Yet, the film saves its best easter egg for an absolute masterpiece of the sci-fi genre, a classic alien movie by Steven Spielberg that almost counted Isaac Asimov as a writer: "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

When Ryan Gosling's Ryland Grace first tries to communicate with the alien creature Rocky, he assumes that Rocky tapping on a glass barrier is the creature's attempt at communicating. Grace then taps back with his own musical message, while humming a familiar five-note tune. It's John Williams' iconic main motif from Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," the five-note motif that allows humanity to communicate with the aliens on a massive light board in that classic film.

Unfortunately for Grace, Rocky doesn't actually understand the "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" reference — or any pop culture reference. Instead, the humor of the moment comes when Grace is deflated to realize that the little spider-like rock alien was simply tapping the glass to point at something behind Grace's back.

This is the kind of brilliant reference that Phil Lord and Chris Miller excel at crafting. They're able to deliver cheeky nods to pop culture that make you do the Leo-pointing-at-the-screen meme while playing into the plot or character in a way that feels consistent in-universe. Grace trying to recreate "Close Encounters" in an attempt to communicate with Rocky is not a "Deadpool"-style fourth-wall break to nod at audiences. Instead, it's a scientist who clearly has seen one of the most famous sci-fi movies of all time using it as a point of reference as he tries to tap into the way this alien creature speaks.

As fun as it might have been to see Grace and Rocky gradually come to understand one another, "Project Hail Mary" makes the right choice to kind of speed through that process. Instead, we get to see the best movie friendship of 2026. (Apologies to Kelson and Samson in "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.") Ryan Gosling took inspiration from a classic Hollywood movie in his performance as Grace in "Project Hail Mary" and continues proving he's one of our best comedic actors. His interactions with Rocky are hilarious, and ultimately quite heartfelt as he learns to love his unlikely companion to the point of sacrificing his own return home to save him. And to think their lovely friendship starts with a misunderstanding and a nice "Close Encounters" reference.

"Project Hail Mary" is in theaters now.