Saoirse Ronan The Latest To Join Ryan Gosling's How To Catch A Monster

When most Hollywood stars make their directorial debut, they opt for something cheap and independent, perhaps a story of a love not meant to be, or the struggle experienced by one character. Even a simple crime drama. But not Ryan Gosling, the actor whose first venture into music was the gothic and monster-minded duo Dead Man’s Bones. A noir fairy tale mystery seems like the perfect place to start.

Casting for Gosling’s How to Catch a Monster has been a big story this week, and now we've learned that actress Saoirse Ronan has just signed on. Her fame has without question risen in the last few years since her leading role as young Susie Salmon in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. She showed off her crime and action chops in Violet and Daisy and Hanna, and will soon be seen alongside Gemma Arterton in Neil Jordan’s vampire thriller Byzantium.

If her current successes weren’t enough, her future is filled with films like the Stephenie Meyer adaptation The Host, Wes Anderson’s next film The Grand Budapest Hotel, and she’s even supposed to play Mary Queen of Scots. By the time the film hits theaters, she will be packing just as much star power as fellow co-stars Christina Hendricks, Eva Mendes, Matt Smith, and Ben Mendelsohn.

How to Catch a Monster spins a suspenseful fantasy tale of a single mother (Hendricks) joining her son on a mystery journey to an underwater town while the world above is vanishing into darkness. At this point, the movie could probably cast Tom Arnold and I’d still be invested in it.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.