A new poster for First Man, the moonshot drama starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, pays homage to the real Apollo 11 mission that landed on the lunar surface 49 years ago today. Described by co-writer Josh Singer as a “mission movie,” First Man details the story of how Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins undertook one of the most daring and hazardous adventures in human history, becoming pioneering heroes when they finally conquered the moon.

Last month, Universal debuted the first trailer for First Man, affording audiences a glimpse of director Damien Chazelle’s vision of the Apollo 11 mission. The full movie will get its premiere in August at the Venice Film Festival. The movie co-stars Corey Stoll, Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Shea Wigham, Pablo Schreiber, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Brian d’Arcy James and Lukas Haas

Forty-nine years ago today, the real Neil Armstrong took one small step for man, and one giant leap for mankind as he became the first person ever to set foot on the lunar surface. Universal Pictures’ First Man appropriately pays tribute to that historic moment with a new poster depicting Armstrong’s iconic Apollo 11 spacesuit complete with a coating of moon dust (see below):

The first trailer for First Man sold the film as a rousing mix of adventure story and human drama. In addition to detailing the Apollo 11 mission itself, the movie also explores the lead-up to that historic undertaking, depicting other key space program figures including astronauts Gus Grissom (Wigham), Ed White (Clarke) and Roger Chaffee (Cory Michael Smith), who were all killed when fire swept through their Apollo 1 test capsule in 1967. A later Apollo mission, the infamous Apollo 13, has already been treated memorably on film with Ron Howard’s Oscar-winning 1995 movie starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and Bill Paxton.

Director Chazelle comes to First Man with an impressive track record that already includes Best Picture Oscar nominations for his first two features, Whiplash and La La Land, as well as a Best Director nomination for the latter. Gosling meanwhile has two career Best Actor Oscar nominations, one for La La Land and another for Half Nelson. First Man looks like a good bet to be a big Oscar contender itself as it re-teams Gosling and Chazelle for a story that has all the makings of stirring drama.

More: The Top 5 Astronaut Movies of All Time

Source: Universal Pictures

  • First Man Release Date: 2018-10-12