With his directorial debut, jazz drumming drama Whiplash scoring critical and festival kudos, Damien Chazelle is currently mulling his follow-up project. He’s already developing a musical film called **La La Land for Whiplash’s Miles Teller and Emma Watson, but is also considering a very different pic, entering talks to direct First Man for Universal{
The biopic, which Josh Singer is looking to adapt, is based on the book First Man: The Life Of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen. Armstrong was, of course, the first man to walk on the surface of the moon. It’ll chronicle his time as a Navy bomber flyer and then test pilot, where he would push planes to the limit and beyond. In the 1960s, he was recruited to work for NASA, rising up the ranks and ending up leading 1969’s Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
First Man has been sitting on the launch pad for more than 10 years, waiting for the go signal. Clint Eastwood was attached to produce and director when Warner Bros. had the rights, but now Universal will be hoping Chazelle and Singer can get it to screens.
From the sounds of it, Chazelle is focused on La La Land first, and then – assuming he makes a deal – will turn his attention to First Man. Whiplash hits US cinemas on October 10, but UK audiences will have to wait until January 16 to see it.