Now here’s one for you: as a director, how do you recast an Oscar-nominated actor who’s just starred in an Odyssean epic for your secret new sci-fi blockbuster? The answer, at least if you happen to be Everything Everywhere All At Once directorial duo The Daniels anyway, is you find yourself an Oscar-winning actor who’s just about to star in the Odyssean epic. Yes, according to Deadline, The Odyssey star Matt Damon is reportedly in talks to replace Ryan Gosling in Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s upcoming Universal sci-fi joint.
Fresh off the back of his winning turn in Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s Project Hail Mary, Ryan Gosling had been announced as the lead for the Daniels’ latest at the beginning of last month, with production due to get underway in Los Angeles this summer. However, barely a week later, Gosling swiftly exited the project, with various sources citing ‘scheduling conflicts’ as the reason for the Canadian’s premature departure. According to Deadline‘s sources, Damon — who had been planning some well deserved time off after shooting The Rip and The Odyssey last year — met with Kwan and Scheinert about the film recently, giving the duo a tentative thumbs-up. Should a deal close for Damon to star, that originally planned summer shoot will go ahead just as soon as the in-demand actor finishes the press tour for Christopher Nolan’s inbound IMAX epic.
Though details on Oscar winners The Daniels’ latest remain strictly hush-hush for now, we do know a little about what the guys are cooking over at Universal. Deadline notes that the film is predominantly eyeing younger stars for its wider ensemble. Elsewhere, the movie was described by Daniel Kwan as “a fun sci-fi, action comedy with a big heart” that’s “very existential” in a recent Collider interview — all of which fit the bill for Damon, who of course led Ridley Scott’s 2015 sci-fi smash The Martian. With Kwan and Scheinert’s film still slated for theatrical release on 19 November, 2027, watch this *ahem* space for more updates in the weeks and months to come.
