With $12 million earned throughout Thursday night time previews, Ryan Gosling’s newest sci-fi film, Challenge Hail Mary, is monitoring for a monstrous home opening weekend haul of $63 to $65 million (through Selection). Coupled with rave opinions to the tune of a 95% critic rating and a 97% viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is poised to be one of many greatest cinematic spectacles of the yr. In fact, with such large crucial and monetary success, it is solely a matter of time earlier than a follow-up is made.
Tailored from Andy Weir’s (The Martian) novel by the directing duo of Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (Spider-Verse), Challenge Hail Mary follows the daring area mission of Ryland Grace (Gosling), who makes an unlikely bond with an alien named Rocky to save lots of their respective planetary stars from extinction. Whereas nobody is ruling out a sequel at this level, Miller and Lord are following Challenge Hail Mary with one other bold sci-fi novel by Weir, printed in 2017.
‘Challenge Hail Mary’ Provides to Ryan Gosling’s Sci-Fi Legacy
Though Ryan Gosling is not usually related to science fiction, the Canadian actor started his profession in a supernatural, sci-fi episode of Are You Afraid of the Darkish in 1995. Over 20 years later, in 2017, Gosling helped revive the Blade Runner franchise by starring in Blade Runner 2049, an acclaimed adaptation of Philip Ok. Dick’s celebrated science fiction story directed by Denis Villeneuve. In 2018, Gosling additionally portrayed Neil Armstrong within the space-themed biopic, First Man, directed by La La Land‘s Damien Chazelle.
Launched theatrically on March 20, 2026, Gosling provides to his sci-fi resume with Challenge Hail Mary, one of many best-reviewed movies of his profession. Tailored from Andy Weir’s 2021 novel by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Challenge Hail Mary facilities on Ryland Grace (Gosling), a former center faculty trainer of molecular biology who wakes aboard a spaceship with retrograde amnesia. As he involves and realizes his former crew has vanished, Ryland makes an unlikely ally in a sentient, stone-like alien he dubs Rocky.
When Ryland and Rocky understand that the celebs their residence planets revolve round are dying, they work collectively to save lots of their species. The movie has a 95% critic rating and 97% viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes, an 8.5 IMDb score, and 78 Metascore. Most reviewers single out Gosling’s profitable charms as he basically carries the movie by himself, including to a rising sci-fi legacy that can proceed with Star Wars: Starfighter, presently in post-production.
The actual query turns into, will Gosling star in Lord and Miller’s sci-fi follow-up to Challenge Hail Mary, additionally based mostly on an Andy Weir novel?
Which Andy Weir Novel Are Phil Lord & Chris Miller Adapting Subsequent?
Introduced manner again in 2017, nicely earlier than Challenge Hail Mary was printed, Deadline reported that Chris Miller and Phil Lord have been hooked up to direct Artemis, based mostly on Andy Weir’s 2017 novel of the identical identify. In July 2018, screenwriter Geneva Robertson-Dworet (Tomb Raider) was employed to adapt the script. For the following a number of years, the movie lingered in improvement with few additional bulletins. Lord and Miller went off to helm the Spider-Verse movies, whereas Robertson-Dworet wrote Captain Marvel and Fallout.
But removed from lifeless, whereas selling Challenge Hail Mary in early 2026, Lord and Miller lastly offered an replace on Artemis. Based on THR, the directing duo continues to be very a lot hooked up to direct Artemis, with plans to make it within the close to future. As Miller states:
“There’s an Artemis script. It’s pleasant. The factor that was holding that again for years was, how will we execute one-sixth gravity? The story takes place on the moon. We expect we’ve figured it out. That’s one of many ones that’s doable.”
Artemis would not simply happen on the moon. The title refers back to the first functioning metropolis established on the lunar floor, the place, within the yr 2080, a part-time smuggler and supply individual named Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara turns into embroiled in a citywide conspiracy that she units out to uncover.
Extra characters embrace Ammar Bashara, Jazz’s disapproving father and Muslim welder working for the town; Trond Landvik, a rich Norwegian who lives along with his teenage daughter, Lene Landvik; Kelvin Otieno, Jazz’s Kenyan smuggling companion; Martin Svoboda, a Ukrainian scientist; Rudy DuBois, a Canadian safety professional; Bob Lewis, a former U.S. Marine; Fidelis Ngugirtemis, Artemis’ founder; Dale Shapiro, a professor and rival to Jazz; and Marcelo Álvarez, a Brazilian assassin linked to the conspiracy.
Though each arduous sci-fi tales set in outer area are tailored from Andy Weir novels, Artemis and Challenge Hail Mary usually are not formally related on a story degree. Artemis is claimed to loosely share the identical storytelling universe as The Martian, the hit sci-fi Ridley Scott movie starring Matt Damon based mostly on Weir’s novel of the identical identify, however Challenge Hail Mary is a completely totally different standalone story.
Not solely is Artemis a moon-set story whereas Challenge Hail Mary is an area journey story, however their timelines additionally differ. Artemis takes place in 2080, whereas Challenge Hail Mary takes place within the 2020s.
With two disparate sci-fi tales linking Weir to Lord and Miller, it is value questioning if Ryan Gosling would have an interest and/or accessible to star in Artemis as nicely. But, as a result of Challenge Hail Mary and Artemis are unrelated, chances are high fairly low except Gosling is keen to take a supporting function. In spite of everything, Artemis is Jazz Bashara’s story, with the worldwide ensemble solely leaving room for Gosling to painting the Canadian Rudy DuBose or the American Bob Lewis. Regardless, it is all conjecture at this level.
Whether or not Gosling stars or not, it is also value noting that The Martian and Challenge Hail Mary screenwriter Drew Goddard will not be hooked up to Artemis. As a substitute, Goddard is writing Wraiths of the Damaged Land for Ridley Scott, which is presently in pre-production, and has accomplished the script for an untitled Cloverfield sequel for Babak Anvari, which is presently filming.