{"id":2606679,"date":"2026-05-25T13:49:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-ignored-the-project-hail-mary-blueprint-as-star-wars-stumbles-and-nolans-odyssey-looks-headed-for-trouble\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T13:53:01","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T17:53:01","slug":"hollywood-ignored-the-project-hail-mary-blueprint-as-star-wars-stumbles-and-nolans-odyssey-looks-headed-for-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-ignored-the-project-hail-mary-blueprint-as-star-wars-stumbles-and-nolans-odyssey-looks-headed-for-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Ignored the &#8216;Project Hail Mary&#8217; Blueprint as &#8216;Star Wars&#8217; Stumbles and Nolan&#8217;s &#8216;Odyssey&#8217; Looks Headed for Trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhollywood-ignored-the-project-hail-mary-blueprint-as-star-wars-stumbles-and-nolans-odyssey-looks-headed-for-trouble%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2606679&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The passage argues that audiences consistently reward movies that tell engaging, well-written stories while avoiding heavy political lectures. It points to *Project Hail Mary* as an example of this: despite its big success, it allegedly didn\u2019t rely on scolding the audience, and instead offered fun, emotion, and blockbuster entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>It also contrasts this with what it describes as Disney\u2019s missteps, citing the comparatively weak opening for *The Mandalorian &#038; Grogu*. The author claims Disney has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/after-years-of-wokeness-nike-releases-pro-family-ad-and-people-are-loving-it\/\" title=\"After Years of Wokeness, Nike Releases Pro-Family Ad, And People Are Loving It\">spent years alienating<\/a> parts of its fan base by focusing on politicized agendas rather than viewer enjoyment.<\/p>\n<p>it suggests Christopher Nolan\u2019s upcoming *The Odyssey* coudl struggle due to controversial casting choices that, according to the piece, may generate backlash and harm audience interest. the text claims Hollywood has been ignoring a \u201csurvival blueprint\u201d that successful films demonstrate: competent storytelling and casting matter more than dressing political messaging as entertainment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>For years, normal Americans have been telling struggling Hollywood the same thing over and over again, which is to stop lecturing us and to start telling good stories again.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, they accidentally proved conservatives were right the entire time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/project-hail-mary-writer-says-hit-film-worked-avoided-woke-political-agendas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Project Hail Mary<\/a>\u201d exploded into one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >biggest box office hits<\/a> of the year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boxofficemojo.com\/title\/tt12042730\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pulling<\/a> in roughly $676 million worldwide against a reported $200 million budget.<\/p>\n<p>And it didn\u2019t get there by scolding the audience. It got there by being fun, emotional, exciting, hopeful, and genuinely entertaining.<\/p>\n<p>If that sounds simple, it\u2019s because it really is that simple.<\/p>\n<p>Families do not go to theaters to hear activists lecture them about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andy-ngo-unmasks-antifa\/\" title=\"Andy Ngo Unmasks Antifa\">gender theory<\/a>, stolen land, privilege, or whatever other obsession infected the writer\u2019s room in a given week.<\/p>\n<p>People want heroes, harrowing adventures, and dazzling visuals without a side of neo-Marxist gender queer theory.<\/p>\n<p>That is exactly what audiences got from Andy Weir\u2019s \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d adaptation, which starred Ryan Gosling as an unremarkable science teacher forced to save humanity through grit, luck, and a lovable alien to team up with.<\/p>\n<p>Americans and moviegoers across the globe rewarded the people behind that film with a word-of-mouth campaign that made everyone involved a ton of money.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Disney spent Memorial Day weekend watching \u201cThe Mandalorian &#038; Grogu\u201d stumble to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-analysis\/star-wars-franchise-serious-trouble-mandalorian-grogu-disappoints-opening-box-office\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">an embarrassing opening<\/a> for a \u201cStar Wars\u201d film.<\/p>\n<p>Its Friday-through-Sunday opening landed at just $81.9 million, which would have been unthinkable for this franchise a decade ago.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not a bad opening for any other film, and it did lead the weekend, but this is not an average franchise.<\/p>\n<p>Disney has now spent years <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/gina-carano-joins-south-park-fun-roasting-kathleen-kennedy-woke-disney\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">alienating<\/a> its own fan base while pretending anyone who objected to the gaying up of everything it touched was the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Fans didn\u2019t exactly show out for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/entertainment\/articles\/pedro-pascal-s-message-trans-003349243.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pro-trans activist<\/a> Pedro Pascal\u2019s movie.<\/p>\n<p>That brings us to Christopher Nolan and his upcoming adaptation of \u201cThe Odyssey.\u201d Nolan is one of the best directors in modern cinema, and he rarely misses (although \u201cTenet\u201d got a little too cute).<\/p>\n<p>But his much-anticipated summer flick could be headed for trouble, and it\u2019s because of the same stuff Hollywood has failed to learn from audiences for basically two decades.<\/p>\n<p>Casting decisions have Nolan fans and other potential audience members rightly willing to skip \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d in order to avoid wasting their time and money.<\/p>\n<p>Nolan cast Lupita Nyong\u2019o as Helen of Troy, one of the most famous Greek figures in all of ancient literature.<\/p>\n<p>Helen was described in the myth by Homer as light-skinned and fair. Nyong\u2019o is black.<\/p>\n<p>Nolan also cast Ellen \u201cElliot\u201d Page in the project.<\/p>\n<p>While the \u201ctransgender\u201d actress\u2019s exact role has not been released, rumors online saying that she would play Achilles started a backlash that will almost surely hurt the movie when it opens in July.<\/p>\n<p>True or not, this is bad press:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">One of the dumbest and twisted things I\u2019ve ever heard \ud83e\udd21\ud83e\udd21<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/elonmusk\/status\/2053903859798393136?\">May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Nolan has rightly earned enormous goodwill with audiences over the years, and a lot of that dried up instantly with the early and negative chatter on this film.<\/p>\n<p>In any event, Hollywood keeps making the exact same mistakes, which \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d avoided completely. The movie proved audiences are starving for stories built on competent writing and casting, and not political messaging disguised as entertainment.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, Hollywood was handed a survival blueprint that many in the industry have been and might continue be too arrogant to follow.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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