Ryan Gosling isn’t convinced that venturing to outer space seems like a blast in the first trailer for Amazon MGM Studios‘ sci-fi movie Project Hail Mary.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed the film that hits theaters March 20, 2026. Sandra Hüller and Milana Vayntrub also star in the feature that adapts author Andy Weir’s novel of the same name.
Project Hail Mary centers on middle school teacher Ryland Grace (Gosling), who finds himself on a spaceship with no memory of his past or how he ended up there. His interstellar mission, which must be successfully completed in order to save Earth from a potential disaster, leads him to meet a mysterious alien who also seeks to save his own species.
The film’s first footage debuted at CinemaCon in April and included Hüller delivering a dire warning. “The sun is not the only star dying,” she explains in the trailer. “If we do nothing, everything on this planet will go extinct.”
Upon hearing that the individual chosen for the risky mission may not return, Gosling has no interest in volunteering. “I understand the stakes — I do,” he says. “But my place is in the classroom.”
Lord and Miller helmed the film from a script by Drew Goddard that adapts Weir’s 2021 book. Gosling, Weir, Lord, Miller, Amy Pascal, Aditya Sood and Rachel O’Connor serve as producers.
Project Hail Mary marks Lord and Miller’s first release as directors since 2014’s 22 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. The filmmakers had previously been working on the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story before they were replaced by Ron Howard.
In describing the new movie at CinemaCon, Gosling quipped of Lord and Miller, “They are only happy if they make you do the very rare and coveted laugh-cry.”