Project Hail Mary’s Ryan Gosling Reveals Bucket List Item He Didn’t Know He Had

Ryan Gosling has starred in multiple Best Picture nominees over the course of his career, but the new sci-fi film Project Hail Mary is shaping up to be one of his biggest movies yet. The film has been steadily building buzz throughout its marketing campaign, and the early reactions indicate Project Hail Mary could be a modern masterpiece. The response to the movie thus far has been extremely rewarding for the creative team, as bringing Andy Weir’s acclaimed novel to life was no easy task. During filming, Gosling endured a series of challenges, but he got to cross off one surprising bucket list item he wasn’t aware of.

During an interview with ComicBook to promote the release of Project Hail Mary (in theaters March 20th), Gosling discussed the more taxing aspects of his performance, such as being his own scene partner for extended stretches and handling the physical demands of the role. “Getting zipped up in a placenta onesie dressed like a space caveman … it was a bucket list thing I didn’t know I had,” Gosling joked.

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Project Hail Mary Helped Prepare Ryan Gosling for Star Wars: Starfighter

Elsewhere in the interview, Gosling praised his co-star Sandra Hüller’s unexpected sense of humor, describing her as a “sniper in the belltower” waiting for the opportune moment to strike with a perfect line reading. He also talked about how his experience with space-related films (which also includes the criminally underrated Neil Armstrong biopic First Man) helped him while making Shawn Levy’s upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter. “It was great prep for that, for sure. Yes,” was all he said, understandably wary about revealing too much about the secretive Star Wars movie that’s over a year away.

Though Gosling was brief in his response to the Starfighter question, one can easily see how something like Project Hail Mary could help him prepare for the galaxy far, far away. Both Project Hail Mary and Starfighter tell their stories on large canvases, immersing audiences in stunning visuals that transport them to otherworldly locations. There’s even some shared DNA between the two in the sense that they aimed to be as practical as possible; Project Hail Mary didn’t use any green or blue screens during production, while Starfighter filmed on actual locations. Working on big-scale projects like Project Hail Mary and Blade Runner 2049 meant Gosling had some idea of what to expect when he started shooting Starfighter, and he’s proven he isn’t out of his element in a studio tentpole.

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Beyond filmmaking techniques, the character of Ryland Grace might have been good prep for Gosling ahead of Starfighter. In Project Hail Mary, Gosling’s Grace develops an unlikely bond with the alien creature Rocky as the two work together to accomplish their mission. Details about Gosling’s Starfighter character are being kept under wraps for now, but it appears that he will spend a lot of time alongside the newcomer Flynn Gray. Whatever bond that forms between Gosling’s and Gray’s characters will likely be the emotional core of Starfighter, much like how the Grace/Rocky dynamic is the heart of Project Hail Mary. There’s also the fact that Project Hail Mary is balancing a variety of tones, making audiences laugh one moment before crying the next. Star Wars is at its best when it combines fun space exploration with compelling character drama, so Project Hail Mary might have been the perfect Star Wars crash course for Gosling.

It will be exciting to watch Gosling’s performance in Starfighter when that film comes out next year. It’s a bit of a change of pace for the actor, who has typically stayed away from Hollywood franchise fare. Gosling has said Starfighter was the right opportunity to break that trend of his because of the heartfelt story Levy is telling. The actor’s involvement is an encouraging sign that Starfighter could be something special. Hopefully it’s subject to conversations similar to Project Hail Mary and has audiences thrilled for what could be one of the best blockbusters of the year.

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