Daniels and Ryan Gosling couldn’t make a deal.
the Hail Mary project Casting to star in the Oscar-winning director’s untitled event film has been halted, Hollywood Reporter I’ve learned. As I mentioned for the first time before Delivery timedue to a scheduling conflict because the project, which received a California tax credit, was unable to shift from its targeted summer debut with a release date already on the calendar of November 19, 2027.
The film falls under the studio’s overall deal for The Daniels’ Playgrounds banner with their long-time producing partner Jonathan Wang, and marks the duo’s follow-up to the pop culture phenomenon that was… Everything everywhere at onceWhich won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay for Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. It was also a box office juggernaut, grossing $143 million on a $25 million budget.
The casting was seen as a coup given that Gosling is coming off a hot debut Hail Mary project for Amazon MGM Studios, which opened at number one at the global box office, potentially launching a new franchise for him and the studio.
According to Universal, plot details for Daniels’ new film are being kept under wraps, although an interview with Daniels has been released Collider At SXSW, Kwan revealed some broad strokes about it by calling it “a fun sci-fi action comedy with a big heart. Very existential. All those things you wish one of our films was.” He added that the film will also confront the moment of a “complicated” world. “One of the reasons the movie took so long is because what we feel and what we hear from the world is really complex and nuanced, and there’s a lot of contradiction. To reconcile all of those things and put them in one movie, it takes time,” he said.
The film will also feature an ensemble made up of young talent, with one source suggesting they may be in the high school age range. Kwan, Scheinert and Wang are producing through their Playgrounds banner. Sarah Scott, Universal’s executive vice president of production development, and Jacqueline Jarrell, director of production development, are overseeing the studio’s project.
Gosling is Disney’s next superstar Star Wars: Starfighter.
THR Newsletters
Sign up to get THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe subscription

