Universal courting Ryan Gosling for Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling's first collaboration will be witnessed in the upcoming LA LA LAND, a modern take on the Hollywood musical which stars Ryan Gosling as a jazz pianist and Emma Stone as the aspiring actress he falls in love with. Their working relationship must have been fruitful as Deadline is reporting that Universal is courting the actor to work with Damien Chazelle once again in FIRST MAN, a biopic centering around the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong.

Should Universal be successful in getting Ryan Gosling on board, he would play the famed astronaut in a story based upon "First Man: A Life Of Neil A. Armstrong" by James Hansen. SPOTLIGHT scribe Josh Singer is handling scripting duties and Damien Chazelle is set to direct the feature. As a sucker for true stories about America's space-age, I'm already excited.

A synopsis of James Hansen's novel via Amazon:

When Apollo 11 touched down on the moon’s surface in 1969, the first man on the moon became a legend. In First Man, Hansen explores the life of Neil Armstrong. Based on over fifty hours of interviews with the intensely private Armstrong, who also gave Hansen exclusive access to private documents and family sources, this “magnificent panorama of the second half of the American twentieth century” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) is an unparalleled biography of an American icon.

Upon his return to earth, Armstrong was honored and celebrated for his monumental achievement. He was also—as James R. Hansen reveals in this fascinating and important biography—misunderstood. Armstrong’s accomplishments as engineer, test pilot, and astronaut have long been a matter of record, but Hansen’s unprecedented access to private documents and unpublished sources and his interviews with more than 125 subjects (including more than fifty hours with Armstrong himself) yield this first in-depth analysis of an elusive American celebrity still renowned the world over.

The journey to the moon is a fascinating tale and as Apollo 11's historic mission is approaching its 50th anniversary, this would be a great opportunity to bring it to life once again. As to when FIRST MAN may kick off production, that's hard to say, but Ryan Gosling is set to start shooting Denis Villeneuve's BLADE RUNNER sequel next summer, so I'd imagine that should Gosling join up with Damien Chazelle again, FIRST MAN likely wouldn't shoot until late next year.

LA LA LAND is set for a July 15, 2016 release, but our next glimpse of the Gos will arrive on December 11, 2015 with the premiere of THE BIG SHORT.