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By Shawn Smith
Threat of global annihilation due to a sun-destroying microorganism might seem like a bleak theme for a movie, but at the heart of the upcoming PROJECT HAIL MARY is hope, says its star, Ryan Gosling.
“I think we look for films that we can bring our family to, that we can go to the theater to see and kind of recreate some of those experiences that I had as a kid, and I felt like I had an opportunity with this one to do that,” Gosling told Movieguide®.
PROJECT HAIL MARY, based on the 2021 Andy Weir novel by the same name, follows science-teacher-turned-astronaut Ryland Grace, played by Gosling, who wakes up on a spaceship with amnesia. With the help of an alien named Rocky, he discovers how to save both their worlds from a star-consuming microorganism, Astrophage.
The LA LA LAND star said the story’s theme of hope also drew him to the movie.
Related: Ryan Gosling Doesn’t Take ‘Dark’ Roles Because of His Family
“I also felt like the optimism in this film was something that I wanted to share with my kids, the sense that that maybe the future isn’t something to be feared but just to be figured out,” the father of two said.
“I think Andy Weir has a special ability to sort of create these epics that don’t, in the end of the day, they’re not just they’re not escapist; they’re actually about reminding us of what we’re capable of,” he continued.
This isn’t the first time the Ontario native has played a space traveler. Gosling portrayed real-life astronaut Neil Armstrong in 2018’s FIRST MAN. He said playing the reluctant and less seasoned astronaut, Grace, was an easier character to take on.
“I put the ‘not’ an astronaut, and I’m not good at space,” Gosling said about his character in another interview. “And often space is depicted in this sort of space ballet, very elegant, everything is like where you know it should be, and…in this, it’s like the opposite, right? This is a guy who is like all of us. I think he’s just not prepared for this, doesn’t want to be a hero and suddenly has the fate of humanity in his hands. So, he’s appropriately afraid and feeling not up to the task. And I think what’s that’s what’s relatable about it.”
Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who worked on THE LEGO MOVIE and SPIDER-VERSE franchises together, said that among the action and drama there is plenty of moments of levity in the movie.
“[T]he stakes are…high, and you know, you want to make sure that everyone knows that this is an important thing that is going on, and we’re taking it very seriously,” Miller said. “But that doesn’t mean that we can’t also laugh, because, you know, the best dramas make you laugh and the best comedies make you cry, and that’s part of the human experience.”
“[L]aughter is such a valuable tool for connection. You’re sitting there in that theater, and you’re listening to everybody laugh at the same thing, and it like pulls you closer together,” added Lord.
PROJECT HAIL MARY comes out in theaters March 20.
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