Ryan Gosling’s upcoming sci-fi movieProject Hail Marylooks to be everything I wanted from Adam Sandler’s astronaut Netflix film based onnew footage revealed at CinemaCon 2025. Gosling, who previously played astronaut Neil Armstrong in Damien Chazelle’sFirst Man, is geared up to star inProject Hail Mary, which could be his best sci-fi movie since Denis Villenueve’sBlade Runner 2049.Project Hail Maryis currently set to hit theaters in 2026.
Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie,21 Jump Street),Project Hail Maryis based on the 2021 novel of the same name by Andy Weir, the celebrated author ofThe Martian, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated Ridley Scott movie.The Martianscreenwriter Drew Goddard, who is also behind projects such as Netflix’sDaredevil,Cloverfield, andThe Cabin in the Woods, has also written the screenplay forProject Hail Mary. All these ingredients aresetting upProject Hail Maryto be incredibly promising.
Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary Can Make Up For Adam Sandler’s Underwhelming Spaceman Movie
Spaceman Received Mixed Reviews & Wasn’t Much Of A Hit On Netflix In 2024
Based on the established premise ofProject Hail Mary, the upcoming Gosling film should center around a serious space mission with humor involved. Similar to the recentBong Joon-ho filmMickey 17starring Robert Pattinson, which was also based on a book,Project Hail Maryshould effectively blend sci-fi and comedy to tell its story. This makes perfect sense for Gosling who, despite being a fantastic dramatic actor, has flexed his comedic muscles in recent blockbusters such asBarbieandThe Fall Guy.
Another film that comes to mind when thinking ofProject Hail Maryis 2024’sSpacemanstarring Adam Sandler and Paul Dano as an alien arachnoid.Spacemanwas released straight to Netflix in February 2024 and wasunexpectedly serious for a Sandler movie. While Sandler has taken on more dramatic roles in recent years,Spacemancertainly could have used some more comedic elements, considering Sandler’s talents.Spaceman, based on the book “Spaceman of Bohemia” by Jaroslav Kalfar, only received a 50% onRotten Tomatoes.
Project Hail Mary Also Includes An Alien Like In Spaceman
Actor James Ortiz Will Portray Rocky In Project Hail Mary
Project Hail MaryandSpacemando share one similarity in the form of characters not from this world. Rocky is a spider-like alien inProject Hail Mary,similar to Paul Dano’s arachnoid creature inSpaceman. Sandler’s Jakub is able to communicate withDano’s character named Hanus, who possesses a universal spiritual wisdom.
Rocky is a skilled engineer inProject Hail Mary, whereas Hanus is more of a metaphysical guide inSpaceman.
Rocky has five legs in theProject Hail Marybook, while Hanus has eight and six eyes inSpaceman. Rocky is also a skilled engineer inProject Hail Mary, whereas Hanus is more of a metaphysical guide inSpaceman. It will be interesting to see whether Gosling’sProject Hail Maryfilm stays true to Rocky’s character from the book.
