WHIPLASH Helmer to Direct Neil Armstrong Biopic THE FIRST MAN

Filmmaker to tackle the life of the famed space explorer…

Universal Pictures has tapped ‘Whiplash’ director and ‘Grand Piano’ scribe Damien Chazelle to take the helm of the long-in-development Neil Armstrong biopic ‘First Man,’ according to THR.

Penned by Josh Singer (‘The Fifth Estate’), the script is adapted from James R. Hansen’s authorized biography and chronicles Armstrong’s days as a Navy bombing pilot – flying 78 missions before the age of 23 – to becoming the first man to step on the surface of the moon.

Temple Hill Entertainment’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey (‘The Maze Runner’) are on board to produce.