By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Tuesday, March 10, 2026

HOLLYWOOD, California — For Ryan Gosling, starring in and producing “Project Hail Mary" wasn’t just about joining a sweeping science-fiction epic; it was about making a movie his own children could watch.

“I think it was very important for me,” the 45-year-old Academy Award-winning actor told The Christian Post. “[My wife] Eva and I look for films that we can go to with our whole family, and we find it hard to find.”

Gosling, who shares two daughters with actress Eva Mendes, said the search for family-friendly films that still resonate with adults helped draw him to the adaptation of Project Hail Mary, the bestselling 2021 book by Andy Weir.

“Obviously, this is the family business, making movies, but we want to go to the cinema too,” the “The Notebook” actor said. “And it’s hard to find something for all of us, especially if it’s not animated.”

Beyond being entertaining, Gosling said the film, directed by “Into the Spider-Verse” creators Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, carries themes he hopes his children and broader audiences can take to heart.

“There’s something thematically that you want to show your kids,” he said. “And I think this was not just escapism.”

Adapted for the big screen by Drew Goddard, who earned an Oscar nomination for adapting Weir’s earlier sci-fi novel The Martian, the film follows Ryland Grace (Gosling), a middle-school science teacher who wakes up alone aboard a spacecraft with no memory of how he arrived there. As his memories slowly return, Grace discovers he has been sent on a desperate mission to stop a cosmic threat slowly draining the sun’s energy and endangering life on Earth.

Along the way, he forms an unlikely friendship with an alien he names Rocky, a relationship that ultimately becomes central to humanity’s survival.

The film is beautifully shot, filmed entirely without green screens on a $200 million budget. But according to Gosling, the story’s power lies in its message about courage, curiosity and the human capacity for problem-solving.

“There’s been such an emotional response to the book and now to the film,” he said. “It seems like it’s more than just the story. The story is incredible. It’s epic. You blast off to another galaxy, you make an alien best friend, you save the world. I mean, it’s as epic as it gets and as cinematic as it can be.”

“I think Andy offers this opportunity to pivot away from fearing the future and think of it more as something to be figured out,” Gosling added.

In recent years, he noted, audiences have become saturated with dystopian narratives portraying the future as bleak and inevitable.

“These sort of apocalyptic scenarios, dystopian futures, we’re so saturated with them that they feel inevitable,” he said. “I think what he’s done is remind us it’s not escapism. At the end of the day, it feels like a reminder of just what we’re capable of as human beings.”

“That we’re capable of amazing things,” he added. “That’s kind of our thing.”

Central to that message is the film’s exploration of sacrifice, the willingness to give oneself for something greater, reflective of John 15:13: "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.” The film repeatedly returns to the idea of risking everything for another person, particularly through the bond between Grace and Rocky.

Gosling emphasized that the theme feels especially relevant in a cultural moment he believes can sometimes emphasize individualism over collective responsibility. The story, he said, reminds audiences of what humanity can accomplish when people choose cooperation over self-interest.

“What was so touching about this was this idea of turning fear into curiosity,” Gosling said. “Turn anxiety into curiosity. Don’t stop being afraid, realize that you’re capable of great things.” 

“Realize that humanity is capable of great things,” Gosling added. “We’ve solved big problems before. We’ll continue to do so. The future is not to be feared,” he said. “It’s something to figure out.”

Gosling also found himself connecting personally to Ryland Grace’s role as a teacher and mentor. Before being recruited for the interstellar mission, Grace worked as a middle-school science teacher, a career shift he made after facing criticism from the scientific community.

The character’s nurturing instincts emerge not only in his classroom but also in his relationship with Rocky, whom Grace gradually learns to communicate with and trust. Gosling said his own experience as a father helped shape how he approached the role.

Grace, he noted, spends much of the film terrified, a reaction Gosling said felt entirely realistic given the circumstances.

“The character is terrified,” he said. “As you would be. … In fact, I was terrified making the movie.”

But what interested him most, he said, was how Grace responds after that fear subsides, adding: “What happens after the panic? You move past it, and then you start getting to work. You start figuring it out.”

That shift from fear to action is what Gosling believes makes Weir’s storytelling resonate with so many.

“I think Andy’s a special writer,” he said. “A lot of films live in the panic. I think he starts his stories after that. Like, ‘Okay, but what did we do about it?’”

That mindset, Gosling added, gives “Project Hail Mary” its hopeful tone. Rather than dwelling on catastrophe, the film celebrates curiosity, resilience and the ability of ordinary people to rise to extraordinary challenges.

“It’s a reminder of what we’re capable of,” he said. “And that’s a pretty powerful thing to pass on.”

“Project Hail Mary” is rated PG-13 for some thematic material and suggestive references. The film hits theaters on March 20. Watch the trailer below. 

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/ryan-gosling-sought-a-family-friendly-film-in-project-hail-mary.html