Early Concept Art Reveals How PROJECT HAIL MARY Brought Rocky to Life
If you’ve been keeping an eye on Project Hail Mary, you probably already know the movie isn’t just about space survival, it’s also about one of the most unique alien companions we’ve seen in a long time.
Rocky, the rock-like extraterrestrial co-lead, has become a fan favorite. Now, thanks to newly shared concept art, we’re getting a fascinating look at how this character almost looked very different.
Concept artists Kris Anka and Jesús Alonso Iglesias have shared art featuring Rocky’s early development, revealing a creative process packed with experimentation, strange biology, and some surprisingly expressive design work.
Anka shared a batch of early designs from 2023 on BlueSky, showing just how much thought went into shaping Rocky’s look. The team, as he explained, had to “find interesting ways to play with asymmetry, silhouette, and texture.” That meant pushing away from anything too clean or predictable. Rocky needed to feel alien in every sense.
At the same time, Anka explored how design could communicate culture. One variation, labeled 2C, even featured barnacle-like growths that acted as decoration and a way to signify rank within Rocky’s species. It’s a small detail, but it hints at a much larger world behind the character.
A lot of these early takes leaned into an arachnid-style structure, with multiple limbs and low, wide stances. Designs like 1E, 1G, and 1K really push that idea, making Rocky feel both grounded and slightly unsettling.
Still, many of the concepts stayed faithful to Andy Weir’s original description, keeping Rocky roughly the size of a Labrador with that distinct “weird, brownish-black rock” texture. You can especially see that in versions like 2A, 1E, 1F, and 1I.
As the designs evolved, things got even more experimental. Some iterations tried to rationalize Rocky’s biology in more detail. Version 2E, for example, introduced a crystal-like structure and a more defined mouth, while others like 2D layered patterned growths onto a more traditional alien form. It’s clear the team wasn’t just designing a creature, they were trying to understand how it could actually exist.
Once the practical puppet version of Rocky came together, Anka shifted gears and focused on performance. He explored “different ways to use body acting, making sounds, [and] moving rocks around to evoke feelings.”
That work helped shape how Rocky communicates on screen, proving that even a character made of stone can have personality. Anka also contributed to figuring out how Rocky’s fingers function, which is something you probably wouldn’t think about until you realize how important it is for interaction and expression.
Iglesias approached Rocky from a slightly different angle. His designs featured a rounder head filled with holes and long, spindly limbs, somewhat similar to Anka’s later concepts like 2D and 2E.
One of the more fun ideas in his version is how Rocky uses his hands in a surprisingly human way, even toying with objects like a Rubik’s Cube. At the same time, Iglesias imagined sleep poses that leaned hard into the alien nature of the character.
Iglesias described designing Rocky as “one of the most difficult [challenges] I’ve worked on so far,” but it also became a valuable learning experience in character creation.
Looking at all this early artwork, it’s interesting to see how different Rocky could’ve turned out. The final version clearly benefits from all that exploration, blending alien physiology with emotional readability in a way that feels fresh.