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First Trailer for 'First Man' Launches Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong

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Universal Pictures has released a first look at "First Man."

The studio on Friday (June 8) posted its first trailer for "First Man," director Damien Chazelle's feature film starring actor Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

"A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James 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," the movie's official website describes. [Photos: Neil Armstrong - American Icon Remembered]

Universal Pictures’ “First Man,” directed by Damien Chazelle, stars Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

The trailer sets up the film's focus on Armstrong, his years as a research test pilot and then as an astronaut, building up to what the movie's tagline describes as the "impossible journey to the moon." In July 1969, Armstrong commanded Apollo 11, NASA's first mission to land humans on the moon.

The two-minute teaser provides quick glimpses of Armstrong (Gosling) piloting the X-15 rocket plane  and as command pilot for his first spaceflight, Gemini 8 in 1966.

The trailer also includes scenes based on Armstrong's private life, in particular his relationship with his first wife Janet, played by Claire Foy ("The Crown"), and with his children.

Opening in U.S. theaters Oct. 12, "First Man" reteams Chazelle and Gosling, who worked together on the 2016 "La La Land." Screenwriter Josh Singer ("Spotlight," "The Post") adapted Hansen's 2005 biography of Armstrong for the film.

Universal Pictures’ first movie poster for “First Man,” directed by Damien Chazelle and starring Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. (Image credit: Universal Pictures)

"First Man" also features actors Corey Stoll and Lukas Haas as Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins, Christopher Abbott as Gemini 8 pilot David Scott, and Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler and Pablo Schreiber as astronauts Ed White, Deke Slayton and Jim Lovell.

Watch Universal Pictures’ first trailer for "First Man" at collectSPACE.

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Robert Z. Pearlman
Robert Z. Pearlman
collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor

Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, an online publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. He previously developed online content for the National Space Society and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin, helped establish the space tourism company Space Adventures and currently serves on the History Committee of the American Astronautical Society, the advisory committee for The Mars Generation and leadership board of For All Moonkind. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History.