{"id":534337,"date":"2026-03-20T07:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T07:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/534337\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T07:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T07:31:08","slug":"project-hail-mary-writer-on-ryan-gosling-making-the-matrix-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/534337\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Project Hail Mary’ Writer on Ryan Gosling, Making ‘The Matrix 5’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe last time Drew Goddard<\/a> adapted one of Andy Weir\u2019s books, it earned him an Oscar nomination. Plus, \u201cThe Martian,\u201d the film that Goddard wrote, was a blockbuster hit. But when he got the call to handle screenplay duties on \u201cProject Hail Mary<\/a>,\u201d Weir\u2019s bestselling story of a science teacher on a mission to save humanity with the help of a crab-like alien, he hesitated.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018The Martian\u2019 was such a magical experience, but there\u2019s something about going back to the well,\u201d Goddard said. \u201cYou worry you\u2019re just trying to do an imitation of a previous movie. But then I read the book and loved it. It was much more challenging to adapt, because the scope was much bigger. And it\u2019s got this deep, emotional story about a human and an alien that I couldn\u2019t resist.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tGoddard is in a Manhattan hotel room, three days removed from the world premiere of \u201cProject Hail Mary.\u201d The $200 million science-fiction epic stars Ryan Gosling and was directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the team behind \u201c21 Jump Street\u201d and the \u201cSpider-Verse\u201d animated franchise. Critics have widely embraced the space epic, praising its humor and heart, and the film is expected to dominate the box office<\/a> this weekend. But Goddard, one of Hollywood\u2019s most in-demand filmmakers and writers, won\u2019t be checking the grosses. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve been working on this film for six years \u2014 we had COVID and the strikes \u2014 so it took a really long time,\u201d Goddard says. \u201cIt\u2019s enjoyable to have people finally discovering it, but looking at the box office results is like checking out your old graduation photos. It seems so long ago. I\u2019m just grateful that we got to make it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tGoddard has plenty of other things keeping him busy. \u201cHigh Potential,\u201d a crime series he created for ABC, recently got picked up for a third season, and he\u2019s executive producing Netflix\u2019s \u201cPagans,\u201d a supernatural drama from\u00a0\u201cSay Nothing\u201d\u00a0creator\u00a0Joshua Zetumer. Then he\u2019s entering \u201cThe Matrix\u201d and taking over writing and directing duties from the Wachowskis on a reboot of the iconic sci-fi series. <\/p>\n

\t\tWhy were you drawn to \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAndy really wanted to do something different with this alien. He doesn\u2019t speak our language. He doesn\u2019t even have a face. He doesn\u2019t have expressive features. He can\u2019t exist in the same atmosphere. That sounds good when you read it, but then you go, how are we going to dramatize this? It scared me to death, and that\u2019s where I like to live.<\/p>\n

\t\tBeyond creating a believable alien character, what other challenges did you face in adapting \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tSo much of the story takes place from the protagonist\u2019s point of view and Ryan\u2019s character doesn\u2019t know what\u2019s happening initially. He\u2019s trying to figure out why he\u2019s in space. And for half of the movie, he doesn\u2019t have anyone to talk to. So how do you make that work for a movie? Let\u2019s be honest, most scenes in movies are people talking. Ryan really wanted to be true to what the character was going through. In early drafts, I used some of my old crutches from \u201cThe Martian,\u201d where Matt Damon is talking to camera, because scientists document their work. But Ryan rightfully pointed out that his character is a high school teacher who finds himself in space. He\u2019s not going to take the time to document everything. He\u2019s just trying to survive. As soon as he said it, I knew he was right.<\/p>\n

\t\tThis is based on a preexisting text, but were there movies you looked to for inspiration?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was all rooted in Andy. When I look back, however, I see James Cameron\u2019s influence on structure. He from my point of view, for big event movies, there\u2019s nobody better at structure. If you look at something like \u201cTitanic,\u201d we meet two kids, they fall in love, we root for them, the ship hits the iceberg, right? If you look at \u201cThe Abyss,\u201d there\u2019s a couple trying to put their marriage back together when the encounter this fantastic thing. Both these movies are about two individuals dealing with these big emotional things in the middle of wildly complicated situations.<\/p>\n

\t\tThat\u2019s interesting because I feel like James Cameron\u2019s writing gets knocked a lot.\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt does, but unfairly. If you look at \u201cThe Terminator,\u201d it\u2019s a profoundly emotional film. It\u2019s not just about a robot who shows up to kill people. It\u2019s about this woman and how she deals with this chaos.<\/p>\n

\t\tHow did Christopher Miller and Phil Lord\u2019s approach differ from \u201cThe Martian\u201d director Ridley Scott\u2019s?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThey couldn\u2019t be more different. Ridley is very formal in his approach. He storyboards himself, so he knows every shot of the movie six weeks out. Phil and Chris come from animation, which is more of an iterative process where they\u2019re constantly trying and trying things. Neither approach is wrong. You just have to do what\u2019s right for the movie. In \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d the main character is a fish out of water. You need it to feel rough around the edges, even a little sloppy. We don\u2019t want to feel like he\u2019s a perfect astronaut. And then there\u2019s the character of Rocky. I don\u2019t know anyone else who could have realized the logistics of making that rock crab come to life. In their animation, Phil and Chris thrive in finding the humanity inside of these crazy characters. That\u2019s what this film required.<\/p>\n

\t\tDo Phil and Chris encourage a lot of improvisation?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOh yeah. They are improvisation masters, and I\u2019ve never seen anyone better at it than Ryan. <\/p>\n

\t\tThis project was greenlit before MGM was sold to Amazon<\/a>. Were you worried that it might not survive the merger?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tAbsolutely. The sad truth is that over the course of my career, I\u2019ve had projects at studios that have been bought by other studios so many times. Often they don\u2019t get made. But Amazon loved what we were doing.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat are some of the films that got scrapped that you\u2019ve worked on?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI had a big Spider-Man movie about the Sinister Six go down because of the Sony hack<\/a>. My office was right on the lot, and I saw the FBI swarm in and the helicopters fly over the studio. I was sad about it, but there was literally nothing I could do to change the course of events. I suppose it was better than if they hadn\u2019t liked the script.<\/p>\n

\t\tYou\u2019ve been tapped to write and direct \u201cThe Matrix 5.\u201d What\u2019s your take on it?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI can\u2019t say too much, because we\u2019re still in the stage of writing it. I need to give myself space to find the best story. I think the approach will be the way I approach anything, which is, do I love it? And I love what Lana and Lilly Wachowski did with those movies. They mean so much to me and I feel like they\u2019ve had a profound impact on my creative voice. I take this responsibility very seriously. I feel the weight of wanting to do right by the fans, wanting to do right by the creators and wanting to do right for myself as a fan.<\/p>\n

\t\tWill Keanu Reeves and the original cast return?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI can\u2019t speak to that. <\/p>\n

\t\tWhy do you think the fourth \u201cMatrix\u201d didn\u2019t resonate<\/a> as strongly at the box office?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t know. It certainly resonated with me. When I watched the movie, I was deeply moved. It may be the most emotional of the of the four. I know it got caught up in the COVID times and it was when Warner Bros. was putting everything on streaming. <\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s your writing process? \t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve sort of honed a very chaotic process, which came from my TV training, because we would have to generate 60 pages in eight days over and over. The way you would do it is you focus really intently on the story. I\u2019m not a person that wants to do 18 drafts to find the story. I\u2019ll do 50 drafts of outlines, then when it\u2019s time to write, I put all that away and handwrite every script. That goes back to college where a writing teacher said, \u201cIf you work on your computer, try handwriting, because unleashing your creativity is about tricking your brain to think you\u2019re not working.\u201d I took that to heart. I sit outside when I write. I try to make it feel playful.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s a movie that you\u2019ve seen recently and really admired for its writing?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s so many, but I\u2019d have to say \u201cWeapons.\u201d Zach Cregger\u2019s script is extraordinary. There was a point in \u201cWeapons,\u201d like an hour in, where I realized I couldn\u2019t even blink because I was afraid to look away from the screen. I didn\u2019t know what was about to happen. It was thrilling. And I felt the same way about \u201cSinners\u201d and \u201cSentimental Value.\u201d <\/p>\n

\t\tWhen Obama recently said there were aliens, did you think what great marketing for \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI probably should have, but I didn\u2019t. I grew up in New Mexico, so I\u2019m well versed in alien lore. Mostly, I was excited about him mentioning it because I thought it might mean we\u2019re gonna get new information. Andy Weir takes this seriously. He comes from a reality-based approach to science fiction. He\u2019s thinking, if a first contact situation were to happen, what would it look like? This is his answer. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The last time Drew Goddard adapted one of Andy Weir\u2019s books, it earned him an Oscar nomination. Plus,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":534338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[233371,88,155909,233372],"class_list":{"0":"post-534337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-drew-goddard","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-project-hail-mary","11":"tag-the-matrix-5"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=534337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/534337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/534338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=534337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=534337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=534337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}