Ryan Gosling to Reunite With ‘La La Land’ Director for Neil Armstrong Biopic
After taking some time off to make his directorial debut and tend to his growing family, Ryan Gosling is back and busier than ever with recent roles in The Nice Guys and awards season favorite La La Land. While that film is currently in theaters (and picking up a few awards nominations), Gosling is already plotting a reunion with director Damien Chazelle for his next project, a Neil Armstrong biopic that will take the actor from the “City of Stars” to the actual stars — you know, like, in outer space.
Variety reports that Gosling has signed on to headline First Man, an upcoming Neil Armstrong biopic based on a screenplay by Spotlight scribe Josh Singer. In what seemingly has all the makings of another awards season contender, First Man follows the iconic astronaut’s life from 1961 to 1969, and explores NASA’s mission to put a man on the moon. Singer’s screenplay is based on James Hansen’s biography First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong, and the film is described as a “visceral, first-person account” that will “explore the sacrifices and the cost — on Armstrong and on America — of one of the most dangerous space missions in history.”
A visceral, intimate story about one man’s sacrifices in pursuit of his dreams? If you’ve seen Whiplash, you know that’s definitely up Chazelle’s alley. The director signed on to helm the project in 2015, and it wasn’t too long after that Gosling was rumored for the lead role — but the script was still incomplete and an official offer had yet to be made.
Chazelle and Gosling will reportedly begin filming First Man in early 2017. In the meantime, Gosling can be seen next opposite Harrison Ford in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049.