Matt Damon Joins The Daniels’ New Sci-Fi Film

The Daniels have their guy. Matt Damon is in talks to star in the untitled new film from Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert — the Oscar-winning duo behind Everything Everywhere All at Once — and alongside that news comes the first real glimpse at what this mysterious project is actually about.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the story involves global warming, time travel, and a possible superhero angle, unfolding across two timelines — one set in the 1980s, one in the present day. The main protagonists are teenagers, at least in the ’80s-set portion of the story. Damon would play the father of one of those teens, a role described as substantial but supporting in nature. Universal is backing the project, and production is set to begin later this summer in Los Angeles — with a release date already locked in for November 19, 2027.

How Gosling’s Exit Opened the Door

This wasn’t the original plan. Ryan Gosling — fresh off his massive box-office win with Project Hail Mary — was the first name attached to the father role, with his involvement announced back in March. But it didn’t last long. Gosling felt the part should be bigger and asked for script revisions. The Daniels weren’t necessarily opposed to the idea, but the project had already been pushed back multiple times and had received a California tax credit that locked in a hard deadline: production had to begin by the end of summer or early fall. There simply wasn’t time for another rewrite.

So in what THR describes as a whirlwind week or two, Gosling was in and then out. The search for a replacement began fast. Jack Black was reportedly considered at one point before the directors turned their attention to Damon.

There’s a fun bit of full-circle irony in the casting swap. Gosling starred in Project Hail Mary, an adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel. The last Weir adaptation before that? The Martian — starring Matt Damon.

Why Damon Made Sense

Damon is no stranger to Universal or to sci-fi. He’s already well-liked at the studio from his Bourne franchise days, and he’s about to headline one of the summer’s most anticipated films: Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, in which he plays Odysseus, releasing July 17 or 18 depending on the market. The cast around him — Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, and more — makes it one of the most stacked ensembles in recent memory.

According to Deadline, after a grueling six-month shoot on The Odyssey, Damon wasn’t in any rush to jump into something new. He was planning to rest, spend time with family, and take his time finding the right project. Then the Daniels’ script landed in front of him. After a meeting with the duo, he gave the thumbs up.

The plan is to shoot the film in Los Angeles this summer, after Damon wraps his promotional run for The Odyssey. Kwan, Scheinert, and producer Jonathan Wang will produce through their Playgrounds banner, which has an overall deal with Universal.

The Daniels have reportedly been developing this project for three years — working through budget challenges, multiple delays, and a script that was initially built around three separate time periods before being streamlined to two. They’ve also reportedly been casting the teen roles since 2024 and may already have those actors in place, waiting until the bigger names were locked before making any announcements.

With Damon now on board, the next piece to fall into place is finding the actor who’ll play his son.