Writer-director Drew Goddard (The Cabin In The Woods, Bad Times At The El Royale) has jumped aboard Ryan Gosling‘s upcoming astronaut movie Hail Mary to help directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller crack the story.
The project is based on the upcoming novel from The Martian author Andy Weir, which Goddard himself adapted for Ridley Scott‘s film, so his addition to this project makes sense. It’s not official yet, but it’s possible Goddard takes the screenplay reigns, taking some of the workload from Lord and Miller.
Hail Mary has Gosling playing an astronaut who wakes up on his spaceship with no memory. He’s millions of miles away from home, and his two crewmates are both dead. Not only that, but he’s humanity’s only hope for survival from an extinction-level threat. No pressure, then.
MGM acquired the rights to Hail Mary for $3 million, so the project is clearly a high priority for the studio. So it makes sense that they’re turning to Goddard early on in the development process to make sure the film is as stable and good as it can be considering the monetary commitment.
Weir’s novel won’t be published until next year. Pre-publication deals like this are nothing new though. MGM and competing studios will have seen the success of The Martian and jumped at the chance to produce the adaptation of Weir’s next book, no matter how good it is.
Lord and Miller usually excel at comedy, so it will be interesting to see if this film is different tonally to The Martian, despite the similar premises. Either way, the duo (plus Goddard) spearheading a Gosling space film is certainly something to get excited about.
#Peace.Love.HailMary
