
Ryan Gosling’s new sci-fi film, Project Hail Mary, earned $12 million from preview showings on Thursday night and is predicted to bring in $63 to $65 million domestically this weekend, according to Variety. With critics and audiences loving the movie – it currently has a 95% and 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively – it’s shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, and a sequel is likely in the works.
Based on Andy Weir’s novel The Martian, the film Project Hail Mary—directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (known for Spider-Verse)—tells the story of astronaut Ryland Grace (played by Gosling) who forms an unexpected friendship with an alien named Rocky. Together, they must work to save both of their planets from destruction. Although a follow-up movie hasn’t been confirmed, Miller and Lord are already planning to adapt another of Weir’s sci-fi novels, published in 2017.
‘Project Hail Mary’ Adds to Ryan Gosling’s Sci-Fi Legacy
Ryan Gosling, known for a variety of roles, actually started his acting career in the science fiction world with an appearance on Are You Afraid of the Dark? back in 1995. More recently, in 2017, he brought the Blade Runner franchise back to life in Blade Runner 2049, a highly praised film directed by Denis Villeneuve and based on the work of Philip K. Dick. The following year, in 2018, Gosling played astronaut Neil Armstrong in the biopic First Man, directed by Damien Chazelle, who also directed La La Land.
Ryan Gosling stars in Project Hail Mary, a critically acclaimed sci-fi film released on March 20, 2026. Based on the 2021 novel by Andy Weir and directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the movie follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a former science teacher who wakes up on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or his mission. He soon discovers his crew is gone and forms an unexpected partnership with an intelligent alien creature made of stone, whom he names Rocky.
In the film, Ryland and Rocky discover that the stars their planets orbit are failing, and they team up to save their people. It’s been very well-received, with a 95% approval rating from critics and a 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, plus an 8.5/10 rating on IMDb and a Metascore of 78. Many critics highlight Ryan Gosling’s performance as the driving force of the film, and note it adds to his growing reputation in science fiction, with his work continuing in the upcoming film Star Wars: Starfighter.
The big question now is whether Ryan Gosling will appear in the next sci-fi movie from the team behind Project Hail Mary, which, like that film, is based on a book by Andy Weir.
Which Andy Weir Novel Are Phil Lord & Chris Miller Adapting Next?

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News about the movie Artemis, based on Andy Weir’s 2017 novel, first surfaced back in 2017, even before his book Project Hail Mary came out. Deadline reported that Chris Miller and Phil Lord were set to direct. Geneva Robertson-Dworet, known for her work on Tomb Raider, was brought in to write the screenplay in July 2018. However, the project stalled for several years with little news. During that time, Lord and Miller worked on the Spider-Verse movies, and Robertson-Dworet wrote Captain Marvel and Fallout.
Despite ongoing projects, including promoting their film Project Hail Mary in early 2026, directors Lord and Miller shared an update on Artemis. According to The Hollywood Reporter, they are still committed to directing the film and intend to begin production soon, as Miller confirmed.
We have a script called Artemis, and it’s really good. The biggest challenge for years was figuring out how to realistically show the moon’s lower gravity – one-sixth of Earth’s. Now, we believe we’ve found a solution, which means we can finally move forward with the project.
The story of Artemis isn’t just set on the moon; it’s set within the first working city built there. In the year 2080, Jazz Bashara, who works as a part-time delivery person and smuggler, gets caught up in a major city-wide conspiracy and tries to solve it.
The story also features a diverse cast of characters, including Ammar Bashara, Jazz’s critical but hardworking father who is a Muslim welder; Trond Landvik, a rich Norwegian man and father to his teenage daughter, Lene; Kelvin Otieno, Jazz’s partner in smuggling, originally from Kenya; Martin Svoboda, a scientist from Ukraine; Rudy DuBois, a Canadian security specialist; Bob Lewis, a former U.S. Marine; Fidelis Ngugirtemis, the founder of Artemis; Dale Shapiro, a professor and professional rival of Jazz; and Marcelo Álvarez, a Brazilian murderer connected to the central conspiracy.
Are ‘Project Hail Mary’ & ‘Artemis’ Related to Each Other?

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Both Artemis and Project Hail Mary are science fiction stories set in space and based on novels by Andy Weir. However, they aren’t part of the same story universe. While Artemis has some connections to the world created in The Martian (the popular film starring Matt Damon), Project Hail Mary is a completely separate, independent story.
Both Artemis and Project Hail Mary are science fiction novels, but they tell very different stories. Artemis is set on the moon, while Project Hail Mary focuses on interstellar space travel. They also take place in different time periods: Artemis is set in 2080, and Project Hail Mary happens in the 2020s.
Considering Andy Weir’s connection to the team behind both stories, and their previous work together, it’s natural to ask if Ryan Gosling might be interested in starring in a film adaptation of Artemis. However, since Project Hail Mary and Artemis aren’t connected, it’s unlikely he’d take a leading role. The story centers on Jazz Bashara, and Gosling would likely only be able to play a smaller part, such as Rudy DuBose or Bob Lewis. For now, though, this is all just speculation.
Even if Ryan Gosling isn’t involved, it’s important to know that Drew Goddard, the writer of The Martian and Project Hail Mary, isn’t working on Artemis. He’s currently writing Wraiths of the Broken Land for Ridley Scott, which is in the early stages of production, and has finished the script for a new Cloverfield movie directed by Babak Anvari, which is now being filmed.

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2026-03-23 02:49