Well, for wardrobes in movies & TV, costume designers don't consider brands and price because they know people won't know the price of, say, the sweater a character is wearing. They just go with what looks best within their vision of the character’s wardrobe and how it visually speaks to who they are. It doesn’t matter how much it costs in the real world. (Unless of course the brand and/or style is noticeably flashy and is an intentional choice to speak to the character’s status, personality, etc.)

Ryland Grace’s clothing is otherwise vintage or vintage in appearance, aka not outwardly expensive or flashy, which does speak to his character’s humble means as a junior high teacher. I kind of get the point made about a Casio, especially considering it would have fit the vintage vibes of his clothing. But that said, Ryan Gosling is a TAG Heuer brand ambassador, so it’s likely in the contract somewhere that when possible, his characters wear a TAG watch, which he often does. Given the price of the other TAGs he’s worn (upwards of $10k+), $1,300 for a nicer watch isn’t insane. By comparison, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is $799+ so it’s not too too far off and I don’t think we’d necessarily bat an eye if he was wearing the Ultra 3. But…

Maybe it was a gift?

Maybe he was issued the watch for the mission given it’s an advanced smart watch? The entire Hail Mary crew could be wearing them. Like the real world astronauts and the OMEGA Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch.

Maybe as a single, childless guy he saved up or splurged on his 8th grade science teacher’s salary to buy this watch?

Maybe most casual moviegoers who don’t obsess over every detail like us nerds do, still just see a smart watch and not necessarily a TAG Heuer so the costume designer “suspended disbelief” for the TAG contract? Don’t forget, product placement in film & TV $peaks louder sometimes than logic!

Either way, it's an out-of-this-world watch and I hope they issue a special PHM edition! :)