Here’s Why Ryan Gosling Has Been Spotted Filming In Southsea

A very famous face has been spotted on the south coast: Ryan Gosling, Hollywood star of The Notebook, Barbie and, most recently, The Fall Guy. He’s shooting an upcoming sci-fi film titled Project Hail Mary. Here’s everything you need to know – plus when we’ll get to see it in cinemas.

Project Hail Mary: Plot, Cast, Release Date & More

Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in April 2024 at THE FALL GUY London Premiere. (Max Cisotti/Universal)

What Is Project Hail Mary About?

Project Hail Mary is a space survival film centring on an astronaut called Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) who wakes up on a space station with no recollection of who he is, how he got there, or what his mission is supposed to be. Perhaps worst of all, he is entirely alone.

As his memory slowly unfurls, Ryland realises his situation: he was sent with his crew to the Tau Ceti solar system to reverse the impact of a space event that has plummeted planet Earth into the early stages of an ice age. It’s a last-ditch effort to save the planet – and Ryland is the crew’s sole survivor. As details of his mission come to light, Ryland must draw on his training and intellect to complete it – but is he entirely alone?

Is It Based On A Book?

Yes, Project Hail Mary is based on a novel of the same name by acclaimed sci-fi author Andy Weir – the man behind another famous book-to-film sci-fi title, The Martian (which was directed by Ridley Scott, starred Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain and landed in cinemas in 2015). Published in 2021, the 475-page novel was well-received, bagging the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Science Fiction. An adaptation has been in talks ever since the book was published, with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller set to direct.

Lord and Miller are on board to direct another film adaptation of a book by Weir: his 2017 novel, Artemis, which follows a smuggler in the moon’s first and only city in 2080. However, with Gosling producing Project Hail Mary as well as starring, it seems much more progress is being made on this front.

Sandra Hüller in The Zone of Interest (© A24)

The Cast Of Project Hail Mary

Cast details are gradually coming to light – but Ryan Gosling will have most of the screen time. German actor Sandra Hüller, who rose to international fame last year thanks to her performances in Anatomy of a Fall and The Zone of Interest, will also star. The cast we know so far includes:

• Ryan Gosling as Ryland Grace
• Sandra Hüller as Eve Stratt
• Milana Vayntrub
• Bastian Antonio Fuentes
• Isla McRae
• Robert James Smith

Where Are They Filming Project Hail Mary?

Ryan Gosling was spotted filming Project Hail Mary in Southsea, Portsmouth over the weekend (12 & 13 October 2024). Donning a yellow raincoat and wire-rimmed spectacles, the star wowed passersby with his transformation – a world away from his recent role in The Fall Guy and his Cali-tanned Ken in Barbie.

We’re not quite sure just yet which scenes were being filmed on this rainy England day, but we do know Ryland was a teacher before he became an astronaut – so perhaps Gosling was filming a flashback.

Regarding the space ship, we imagine most of the action will be filmed on a set somewhere.

Ryan Gosling as Ken in Barbie. (Warner Bros.)

Release Date

Project Hail Mary will be released in cinemas on 20 March 2026 in the US, with international details to follow.