New trailer for First Man ramps up the intensity of the mission to the Moon

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Universal Pictures released a new trailer for Damien Chazelle's FIRST MAN, and even though we obviously know the outcome of NASA's mission to land a man on the Moon, the intensity of the trailer almost fools you into believing that they might not make it. FIRST MAN finds Ryan Gosling starring as astronaut Neil Armstrong and the film will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

FIRST MAN will premiere tonight at the Venice International Film Festival, and Damien Chazelle spoke about the film at a press-conference this morning, with the director saying that his goal was to "try to make it feel like a family documentary, a home movie. that happens to include going to the moon." Chazelle also added that this was his first opportunity to make a movie which "wasn't my own experience." Growing up, as many of us did, with the Moon landing having already happened, it's a little easy to take that incredible accomplishment for granted. "The era, the scope of this, it was all very alien to me. I had to find ways to relate to the story… We grow up with the moon landing already [having] been a fact, with the iconic images and the archival footage," Chazelle said. "But the more I learned about it, the more fascinated I became in what went into it and, of course, what the costs were of that process. Because they were enormous."

The official synopsis for FIRST MAN:

On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969.  A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

FIRST MAN will hit theaters on October 12, 2018.