If the last decade of cinema has taught us anything, it’s that Ryan Gosling and science fiction go together like salt and pepper. Having already starred in the likes of First Man and Blade Runner 2049, the Canadian actor’s next space-faring epic will be Project Hail Mary – and it looks like it will be a dazzling spectacle going by the first glimpse we’ve had.
The first official poster for the upcoming film confirms a March 20, 2026, release date and a talented cast, with Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) and Milana Vayntrub (Other Space, This Is Us) set to star alongside Gosling.
Directed by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Project Hail Mary is an adaptation of the 2021 novel of the same name by American author Andy Weir, which centers on a school teacher-turned-astronaut who wakes up from a coma to discover that he’s the last surviving member of a crew sent into space to re-ignite the sun.
The novel is a gripping page-turner mainly because of the way the story unfolds: Because the protagonist wakes up without any memory of why he’s millions of miles away from Earth in a spaceship, the story develops piece by piece, which I don’t doubt will make for gripping cinema.
Weir also wrote The Martian, which was adapted into a 2015 film of the same name by Ridley Scott, so it’s safe to expect similar WFS (work from space) vibes from Project Hail Mary.
Given that The Martian was such a huge success – it received widespread acclaim, and has 91% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics and audiences alike – many (yours truly) have high hopes that this will be another huge hit.
Indeed, Weir knows how to write a compelling story and seeing that this is the second novel of his to be adapted into a movie, I bet that it will be equally as good, especially considering that another A-list star will be in the lead role.
Ryan Gosling is also set to join the Star Wars universe as an all-new character in the upcoming movie Star Wars: Starfighter, which is due to be released in theaters in May 2027, so this isn’t the only sci-fi film he’s been working on.
Project Hail Mary will be released in theaters on March 20, 2026.
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