Ryan Gosling has already played a teacher (“Half Nelson”) and an astronaut (“First Man”), but with “ Project Hail Mary ,” he’s both. That’s right: Gosling is leading the feature as a middle school biology teacher who travels to space to save the universe.

The comedic sci-fi film from Amazon MGM Studios follows Gosling, whose character makes a leap from unassuming teacher to an astronaut assigned to a risky space mission. The “Barbie” star appears opposite Sandra Hüller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), who convinces Gosling’s character to launch himself into space to save humanity.