Director Damien Chazelle has found another actor for his next film First Man. Per Deadline, Bloodline‘s Kyle Chandler will star as astronaut Deke Slayton, who was one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and later became NASA’s Director of Flight Crew Operations. He joins Ryan Gosling, who will be playing the first man to step on the moon, Neil Armstrong.
As Director of Flight Crew operations, Slayton oversaw many of NASA’s divisions and had a significant say in the Gemini and Apollo programs. It was ultimately his decision of who would be the first man to step onto the moon.
The film is based upon James Hansen’s biography First Man: A Life of Neil A. Armstrong and has been scripted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Josh Singer (Spotlight). It will explore the story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon between the years of 1961 and 1969, and of course the legendary Apollo 11 mission, where Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon.
UPDATE: It has also been announced that Corey Stoll (Ant-Man) has signed on to play Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon.
First Man is set for release on October 12, 2018. Chandler, meanwhile, will be seen next in Game Night and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Originally published June 21, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
