Neil Armstrong biopic planned...

If In The Shadow Of The Moon taught us one thing, it’s that factual space exploration can be just as jaw-droppingly awesome as anything in science fiction. And if it taught us one other thing, it’s that Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, is more than a bit of a recluse.

Which makes writing movies about him slightly tougher than the other astronauts.

Still, Universal has lucked into buying the rights to NASA historian James R Hansen’s book First Man: The Life Of Neil A Armstrong, which had rare direct access to the man himself. Nicole Perlman is writing the script, which will chronicle the life of the driven space explorer.

"The closer he got to the moon, the further away he became from his family," Perlman told Variety. "He had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic."

Variety has planted its flag on the story , and you can now get your forum brains ticking over as to who could play him.

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