Ryan Gosling is Back... Finally!

It feels strange to ask if 2014 will be the year of Ryan Gosling's comeback. The actor is, after all, one of the biggest stars on the planet and doesn't necessarily need a comeback. But after a disappointing 2013 on screen (Gangster Squad and Only God Forgives were both critical and box office flops) and the fact that he all but disappeared from the public eye off screen (when he was snapped pumping gas last month it was such a rare sighting that BuzzFeed devoted an entire post to the occasion) it might not be so crazy to call 2014 the Year of the Baby Goose Comeback, after all. Gosling's directorial debut Lost River will premiere at this year's Cannes Film Festival, which means that not only will we get to see the 33-year-old's career head in an exciting new direction, but we'll finally get some new, handsome red carpet photos.

We might also see him in the new Terrence Malick film, which is slated for release this year, but just because you star in a Terrence Malick movie doesn't necessarily mean you'll be in it.

But will 2014 be Ryan Gosling's biggest and best year? While 2005 was a pretty great one for all of us (that was, after all, the year of that incredible MTV Movie Awards kiss with his then-girlfriend and The Notebook co-star Rachel McAdams) and 2007 was pretty great for him (he earned his first Oscar nod for his work in Half Nelson), Ryan Gosling's best year so far has got to be the 2010-2011 era. 2010 not only gave us the greatest meme of all-time "Hey Girl" and, in turn, the greatest reaction to a meme of all-time, but it also gave us what is arguably Gosling's best performance to date, as the heartbroken Dean in Blue Valentine. He kept the momentum going in 2011 with his most versatile performances from a hilarious Drunk History segment to The Ides of March to Crazy, Stupid, Love. to the movie that launched a thousand knock-off jackets, Drive.

Sigh.

2013, on the other hand, proved to be not the best year for Ryan Gosling. (Though, even a "bad" Ryan Gosling year is still pretty great.) In addition to those cinematic misfires that were Only God Forgives and the doomed-from-the-get-go Gangster Squad, Ryan also got wrongly snubbed for the title of People 's Sexiest Man Alive, became non-stop tabloid fodder regarding his relationship with Eva Mendes, and his beautiful face became horrendously tattooed on Ryan Cabrera's leg.

Sigh. Things can only get better this year, Goosey!

Images: MTV