In the last few years, Ryan Gosling has most definitely been on a "feel good movie" kick. While the actor has earned acclaim for dark and serious dramas like Drive, Blue Valentine, and Half Nelson his last three features have been full of joy: the pink-hues of Greta Gerwig's Barbie, the fun action of David Leitch's The Fall Guy, and the undeniable optimism of Phil Lord and Chris Miller's Project Hail Mary. It's a standout streak for him, and also not an accident or a coincidence.
Gosling, with wife Eva Mendes, has now been a parent for over a decade, and when CinemaBlend sat down with him during the recent press day for Project Hail Mary, he explained that it's had an impact on his project choices. The upcoming 2026 movie is designed in the vein of classic blockbusters for all audiences, and that's exactly the kind of stuff that he is currently into making. Said the actor,
Yeah. I think being a father sort of changes how I view what I make, where I spend my time, where am I, where we as a family spend our time. I think it was really kind of important to Eva [Mendes] and I to… We would love to find movies that we can bring our whole family to. It feels hard to find, and just felt like something that, you know, like one of those films like that. We all remember where we were when we saw E.T., who we saw it with. That stays with you. I really feel like this is in that; this is that kind of film for this generation.
Project Hail Mary is certainly a film brimming with optimism… albeit with the threat of some serious darkness. The movie begins as a mysterious microscopic organism is discovered in space consuming the energy of the sun, and should their activity go unimpeded, it would mean extinction for every species on Earth. That's the scary part; the hopeful part is that the threat results in countries from around the world working together to try and discover a solution – which ultimately results in Ryan Gosling's Ryland Grace being put onto an interstellar ship and sent to the Tao Ceti star system.
Article continues belowThe effort is not without some conflict (obviously), but there is also no wallowing in despair. The protagonist is a scientist who wishes to do everything he can to work the problem until it's solved, and Ryan Gosling loves that not only about Project Hail Mary but also other works by author Andy Weir (who also wrote the book The Martian, adapted in 2017 by director Ridley Scott). The actor continued,
It's so hopeful as well, which I think is what I really responded to – was this idea of like, ‘Okay, enough with the dystopian future ideas that are so bleak and offer no solutions.’ Andy Weir is such an important voice because he says, ‘Well, okay, but maybe the future is not something to be feared, but just to be figured out.’
If you haven't read Andy Weir's books, I highly recommend doing so for a major dose of the energy Ryan Gosling describes. This includes not only both Project Hail Mary and The Martian, but also his second novel Artemis (which has not yet been adapted).
While you add all of those books to your "To Be Read" stack, you can check out Project Hail Mary in theaters this Friday, March 20 – and be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend in the coming days and weeks, as we have plenty more coverage of the movie on the way.
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