We don’t make the rules, but if we did, we’d say that if you direct a Lego movie, every movie you direct after that gets a Lego set. Thankfully, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller seem to agree and got the company to make one for their upcoming film, Project Hail Mary. It’s a unique set, mostly because Lego rarely makes them for non-IP-driven films. So, after talking to the duo about it, we knew we had to pick one up for ourselves.
Clocking in at $100 and 830 pieces, the Project Hail Mary set is, of course, the Hail Mary ship itself, complete with its three massive fuel tanks. The set also comes with stands and figures of the film’s main characters, Ryland Grace and Rocky the alien. It’s a relatively short build, taking about four hours in total, but it is incredibly fun to create and play with. Plus, it somehow gets cooler once you’ve seen the film itself.
First, you build the characters, the mini-fig of Ryland Grace and Rocky the alien. You can display them together, separated by the window of Rocky’s ship, or click them into the base of the ship itself (seen in the final image of this article).
From there, it’s on the main section of the set, which, to be completely honest, was relatively challenging. It’s a very detailed Technic build with lots of tiny parts that requires your 100% full attention to get exactly right. And yes, Lego is considered a kid’s toy, and the instructions are very clear, but there are easy-to-build Lego sets and less easy-to-build Lego sets, and this is a less easy-to-build one.

But it’s worth it. Once you put together the full mechanism, it’s just… awesome. It’s so rewarding to twist the crank and see all the little pieces moving in unison. But until you start the final two phases, you don’t know exactly what you’re moving.
With the final two bags of the set, you build the ship, sails, and fuel containers, all of which connect to the base mechanism, making it so you can move the Hail Mary out from the middle of the structure and into orbit, just like in the movie. This is how Grace is able to stabilize the ship and create gravity so he can walk around. It’s a very prevalent moment in the film, and now you can bring it to life in Lego. Check it out.
Here’s what the #ProjectHailMary Lego looks like once it’s completed. pic.twitter.com/7XpUkjNQk5
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) March 10, 2026
Did the set have to do that? Of course not. It still would’ve been pretty damned cool if the ship had been stationary. But the way it just goes that extra step to give you something special is why it’s such a fantastic set.
Beyond that, along the way, the instructions give you little tidbits about the movie and how the pieces you are building tie in to the story. It’s not a prevalent thing, but it does add a little extra layer of cool on top of everything else.

All in all, having seen and really enjoyed Project Hail Mary, I truly love this set. It’s made to be displayed but can also be played with and looks great with the two main characters attached, too. Building it made for a very enjoyable afternoon that I’ll remember whenever I look at it on the shelf.
The Project Hail Mary Lego is available wherever Legos are sold. Here’s a link to the official site.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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![The Pope’s AI Warning Could Help Workers Seek Religious Exemptions From Using AI
Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work. One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports. Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns. Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope’s AI remarks. “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,” Maus told Business Insider. “Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.
Now, the pope’s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument. “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month. He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing “the mystery of the person into data and performance” and called on the tech industry to avoid “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.”
The pope continued that “a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.” That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job. “When he’s speaking, he’s speaking as the pontiff—as a religious figure—so he’s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,” Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. “I think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say…I can’t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.
And it’s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee’s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs. “I think this opens a door—or it’s a little bit of a road map—for employees to raise concerns,” Segal told HR Brew. “What the courts have said—what the EEOC has most definitely said—is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn’t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.” #Popes #Warning #Workers #Seek #Religious #ExemptionsAI,Pope Leo XIV,work The Pope’s AI Warning Could Help Workers Seek Religious Exemptions From Using AI
Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on AI could set off a wave of workers seeking religious exemptions from using the tech at work. One software engineer in North Carolina already secured one last month, Business Insider reports. Erin Maus, a Unitarian Universalist, first sought the accommodation in April at the large tech-entertainment company where she works, which she described as progressive. She argued that using AI did not align with her religious beliefs because of environmental and ethical concerns. Maus was granted the exemption in May, before the pope’s AI remarks. “I’m writing my code and reviewing my code by hand, which seems crazy to say,” Maus told Business Insider. “Just two years ago, how else would you do it?”
Maus is unlikely to be the only person seeking a similar accommodation as companies increasingly invest in AI and push, sometimes even mandate, employees to use the technology. In the U.S., the share of employees who say they use AI at least a few times a year at work has nearly doubled from 21% to 40% in 2025, according to Gallup.
Now, the pope’s remarks and official theological document could give some workers a stronger argument. “In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human,” the pope wrote in his 43,000-word encyclical titled Magnifica Humanitas, published last month. He wrote that AI is dehumanizing society by reducing “the mystery of the person into data and performance” and called on the tech industry to avoid “the idolatry of profit that sacrifices the weak.”
The pope continued that “a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family.” That call for a slower adoption of AI could be enough for some workers to argue they should not be required to use it on the job. “When he’s speaking, he’s speaking as the pontiff—as a religious figure—so he’s raising these human dignity issues as religious issues, theological issues,” Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and Duane Morris partner, told HR Brew this month. “I think it is inevitable that some employees will rely on this to say…I can’t use AI because it conflicts with a religious belief that I have.” Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers are required to make reasonable accommodations for workers whose sincerely held religious beliefs conflict with a work requirement, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer.
And it’s not a stretch to think some of these requests could at least get serious consideration. Just a few months ago, Rex Healthcare agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the company of unlawfully denying a remote employee’s request to be exempted from its mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy over religious beliefs. “I think this opens a door—or it’s a little bit of a road map—for employees to raise concerns,” Segal told HR Brew. “What the courts have said—what the EEOC has most definitely said—is that, as the general proposition, we shouldn’t question the legitimacy [of] sincerely held religious beliefs.” #Popes #Warning #Workers #Seek #Religious #ExemptionsAI,Pope Leo XIV,work](https://gizmodo.com/app/uploads/2026/05/shutterstock_2666910201-1280x853.jpg)
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