This month’s First Man tells the story of NASA’s greatest achievement, but 17 years after Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members before they reached orbit.
Amongst the astronauts on board was 37-year-old Christa McAuliffe, a schoolteacher who was travelling to space to conduct experiments and to teach the first lessons in zero gravity. Before the launch McAuliffe was held as an inspiration for children everywhere, and after the tragic accident her legacy has continued to inspire – with schools (and one crater on Venus) named after her, scholarships set up in her name and a posthumous Congressional Space Medal of Honor awarded to her family.
The Challenger disaster has been dramatized before – first in 1990 as (with Karen Allen as McAuliffe in a TV film that sidelined her a bit), and again in 2013 (focusing more on the aftermath), and now Michelle Williams has signed on to play McAuliffe in a new film that will focus on her story in full.
The Challenger will be directed by Martin Zandvliet (Land Of Mine), with filming expected to begin next May.
“We are more than humbled and extremely grateful for the opportunity to help tell the story of Christa McAuliffe and the Challenger mission,” producer Ben Renzo tells Deadline. “Christa McAuliffe’s legacy deserves the strength, courage, experience and humanity that Michelle Williams brings to the role. The entire Argent team is honoured and eager to responsibly capture and share the events and personal journeys of those surrounding this important historical moment with audiences around the world to help remember and further appreciate the sacrifices Christa and rest of the Challenger crew made to further our journey into space.”