Ryan Gosling is Neil Armstrong in the First Man Trailer

When I think about space travel in the 60’s, I am gobsmacked by what NASA was able to accomplish with such primitive (to us) technology. Now, perhaps the most significant achievement in science history is coming to the big screen. Ryan Gosling is playing astronaut Neil Armstrong in First Man, which explores Armstrong’s long journey to become the first man on the moon. The film delves into the dangerous and complex work behind the Apollo 11 spaceflight, as well as Armstrong’s relationship with his wife Janet, played by Claire Foy (The Crown). The film also stars Corey Stoll, Pablo Schreiber, Kyle Chandler, and Jason Clarke.

First Man is written by Josh Singer (Spotlight) and adapted from James Hansen’s biography First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong. Damien Chazelle directed the film. Chazelle and Gosling previously teamed up for La La Land, which garnered an Oscar nom for Gosling and an Oscar win for Chazelle. The film covers Armstrong’s life from 1961-1969, when the astronaut and aeronautical engineer went through grueling training for the NASA Astronaut Corps. The trailer spends some time on Neil and Janet’s relationship, and how the mission affected their marriage. The couple also suffered a tragedy when their two-year old daughter Karen passed away from a malignant tumour in 1962.

Singer discussed working with Chazelle on the film and what viewers can expect, saying “Damien had a very clear vision from the outset. He said, ‘Can we get across how challenging this was? Can we get across the visceral nature of this?’ The space program has been depicted, tonally, on the softer side in the past,” Singer said.

“Damien said, ‘I want to be terrified the entire time.’ It’s one of the earliest things we talked about. Neil’s heroism isn’t because he landed on the moon, it’s because he had the wherewithal to live through it all.”

First Man lands in theaters in October.

(via Variety, image: screengrab)

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