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Ryan Gosling To Star In Neil Armstrong Biopic ‘First Man’ From ‘La La Land’ Director: Will Emma Stone Play Neil’s First Wife, Janet?

By Glenn Hadley
Published on: 11:51 PST, Dec 29, 2016

Actor Ryan Gosling is set to take one giant step for movie fans by playing astronaut Neil Armstrong in an upcoming biopic.

According to IMDB, the Oscar-nominated actor will star as the legendary astronaut in the Universal movie, First Man. The confirmed director for this biopic is none other than La La Land director Damien Chazelle.

First Man will mark the second collaboration of actor Gosling and director Chapelle — reuniting the two stars for what may very well become another epic, award-nominated blockbuster hit.

IMDB provides a brief description of the story, including the timeline of Neil Armstrong’s life that will be covered in the film.

“The story will examine Armstrong’s life and his involvement in the mission to get man to the moon from 1961-1969, taking a look at the cost on Armstrong and America to complete the dangerous space mission.”

Since the project will focus on Armstrong’s life with a primary focus on his work throughout the 1960s, that poses a question as to how his personal life will be reflected on the big-screen. For instance, who will play Neil Armstrong’s first wife, Janet Armstrong (née Shearon)?

(Image by AP Photo/DT)

By the time 1961 rolled around, Neil was already a married father of two. The Ohio native married Janet on January 28, 1956. Neil and Janet welcomed their first son, Eric, in 1957, daughter, Karen, in 1959, and a second son, Mark, in 1963.

Therefore, who will be chosen to play Janet to Ryan’s Neil?

As of right now, there has been no official casting announcement made about this leading lady of First Man.

Most people would agree that Chazelle knocked it out of the park by matching Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone together to light up the set for La La Land. Some may even agree that the same smart decision was made by directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy, Stupid, Love) and Ruben Fleischer (Gangster Squad) when pairing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in their respective movies as well.

With her critically-acclaimed, award-nominated performances in Birdman and La La Land, Stone has proven that she is more than capable of pulling off the type of dynamic portrayal that the first Mrs. Neil Armstrong deserves. The on-screen chemistry Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone clearly have would reflect the close bond that Neil and Janet shared throughout the course of their 38 years of marriage.

(Image by AP Photo)

Stone would also be able to help Gosling work through the ups and downs of Neil’s personal and professional journey — such as the events surrounding the historical Apollo 11 launch or the painful tragedy of losing their 3-year-old daughter, Karen, in death to a brain tumor in 1962.

Janet was also four-years younger than Neil Armstrong. Emma Stone is nearly eight-years younger than Ryan Gosling, so their age difference would likely help to add authenticity to their on-screen portrayals.

Once again, nothing has been confirmed as of yet in regards to the leading lady who will join Ryan Gosling as Mr. and Mrs. Neil Armstrong in First Man. However, the idea of pairing Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in a biopic based on a true story for the first time is at least worthy of serious consideration.

Reports confirm that the Neil Armstrong biopic is going to be based on the biography First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong.

The New York Times-bestselling book, which was written by James Hansen, was based on more than 50 hour of private interviews with Neil Armstrong. According to the author’s page on the Auburn University website, Armstrong granted Hansen exclusive access to family sources and private documents while conducting the necessary research for the book.

Director Damien Chazelle has actually been attached to this Neil Armstrong project since 2015. Screenwriter Josh Singer (Spotlight) is on-board to pen the film’s script. First Man will reportedly start shooting “in early 2017,” according to IMDB, so maybe fans will find out if they can eagerly await a fourth Ryan Gosling-Emma Stone on-screen collaboration before cameras start rolling.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]

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