New Starry Astrophage Burst Is Dropping at Regal Cinemas

As perhaps the greatest movie star that we have left, and now official “Las Culturistas” podcast guest, the Nicole Kidman once said, “We come to this place for magic.” By “this place,” she naturally meant the movie theater. By “magic,” she of course meant the new Starry Astrophage Burst, an exclusive soda flavor from Drips by Pepsi, which is due to drop today, March 13, to celebrate the release of the new film Project Hail Mary, starring Ryan Gosling.

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Naturally, that intro was all just an excuse to reference Kidman’s AMC Theatres commercial, which I fully believe is one of the greatest of all time. However, these drinks are actually exclusive to Regal theatres, so if you want to try them, you’ll have to make sure you’re heading to the right place. Here’s what you need to know.

What Does This New Drink Taste Like?

This new space-themed drink is the latest from Drips, Pepsi’s custom beverage line, which is only available at Regal theatres. The Starry Astrophage Burst starts with a base of Starry lemon-lime soda (which is very good, just FYI), and then mixes in blue raspberry and cherry flavors. Finally, to make it even more space-y, it’s topped with a handful of candy berry gummy clusters (which look much like Nerds Clusters, but in the shape of Project Hail Mary character Rocky). We have to say, that’s a smart move: Those clusters have the effect of an asteroid spinning through space when they’re swirling around in the drink.

And What’s an Astrophage, Exactly?

Yes, we were wondering that too. An Astrophage is an alien microorganism that shows up in Project Hail Mary, which infects stars and is pivotal to the plot of the movie (and the book that it was based on). Anyone unfamiliar with the 2021 novel will rightly have absolutely no clue what any of that means, but we guess you’ll have to watch the film to find out.

How Long Do I Have to Get It?

This new Starry drink won’t be around for a while, so hop to it. It drops on March 13, ahead of the release of Project Hail Mary on March 20. It’ll likely be available while the movie’s still in theatres, but once it’s gone, we can’t imagine it’ll stick around for much longer (and we all know how much studios love to pull movies from theaters as quickly as possible these days).

The Starry Astrophage Burst will cost approximately $7.99 for a 24-ounce serving, although the price will depend on location. Plus, if you grab a large Starry with a popcorn, you can be entered into a prize draw to win a trip to Iceland. Hey, look, that’s a reason to get to the theatre if ever we heard one.