Is Ryan Gosling the Next Keanu Reeves?

Keanu Reeves has been famous for three-plus decades, but you’d be hard pressed to find a negative story about him.

Sure, film critics never considered him the next Laurence Olivier, but the 61-year-old Reeves has navigated stardom with elan.

No scandals. Consistent hits. Endless tales of his kindness and generosity.

And he makes it look easy. Could Ryan Gosling have found that Reeves-like zone?

The versatile actor is starring in the year’s biggest movie, “Project Hail Mary.” It’s more than a smart, winning tale of human ingenuity against all odds. The film is apolitical, uplifting and a body blow against the rise of A.I. slop.

And Gosling’s PR tour has yet to hit a speed bump. In fact, he said something so simple and profound that it took many by surprise. Here’s what he told a packed movie theater about both his new film and what Hollywood needs to do moving forward.

“Six years ago, I got the manuscript,” Gosling said, referring to “Project Hail Mary.” “[It’s] the most ambitious thing I’ll ever make; it seemed impossible. It was too good not to give it a shot. Six years later, we did it. Here we are, we’re all back in theaters. It’s not your job to keep them open, it’s our job to make things that make it worth you coming out.”

Too many artists today, when the audience rejects their work, dodge the blame. Some bark bat at viewers who didn’t appreciate their handiwork. How many sci-fi storytellers have lashed out at fans for being bigots?

Gosling just did the opposite. It’s on us, he told the crowd. And he’s right.

Now, he’s planning to visit by the “Days of Our Lives” set to honor actress Deidre Hall and her peers. Gosling told the host of the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast how much he admires soap opera actors, and Hall in particular.

“The amount they have to memorize the night before is like 10 pages of dialogue. They get one take,” Gosling said.

So Hall invited him to visit her show’s set, and the actor quickly agreed.

Now, compare that goodwill with Mark Ruffalo’s incessant political screeds, Andrew Garfield suggesting J.K. Rowling is so wicked he can’t say her name aloud and Jimmy Kimmel trashing blue-collar workers.

Refreshing.

Then again, Gosling hasn’t been alienating fans for years with political screeds or insults. He’s been a good sport about his handsome mug, stealing key moments from “Barbie” and never taking himself seriously.

He starred in one of the best “Saturday Night Live” sketches of the modern era, a faux ad for Woke Jeans.

And, if his genial ride continues, he might just save the “Star Wars” franchise from itself next year.

FIRST LOOK:

Ryan Gosling and Flynn Gray in ‘STAR WARS: STARFIGHTER’

Hits theaters in May 2027. pic.twitter.com/vKIMADnkhs

— Worth it or Woke? (reviews) (@worthitorwoke) September 17, 2025

Perhaps Gosling has another movie star in mind as he focuses his brand moving forward.

Superstar Tom Cruise, who has become Hollywood’s go-to ambassador, dropped by the set of “Star Wars: Starfighter” and quickly got to work, according to sources.

A dash of Cruise. A dollop of Reeves. Heck, maybe the death of the Movie Star is premature.