Studios really love Jeffrey Kluger (‘Apollo 13’) and have been eager for a chance at the rights to his bestselling book ‘Apollo 8’. With the cinematic adaptation of his previous work becoming a Best Picture nominee it should come as no surprise that another of his novels would make it to either the big or the small screen.

Producers David T. Friendly (‘Queen Of The South’,’Little Miss Sunshine’) and Michael Bostick (‘From The Earth To The Moon’) brought their pitch to Fox21 Television Studios, and they were happy to pick up this sought after work. The novel is set around NASA’s secret plan which would see Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders be the first men who would fully orbit the moon and see it from the far side. The time period is 1968, and the country is reeling from the two iconic voices of peace, Martin Luther King, and Robert F. Kennedy both having been assassinated. Not only that, but the country has also just dealt with the Tet Offensive in Vietnam. Space exploration isn’t necessarily at the top of the country’s priorities.

According to Friendly:

“We want to explore the huge stakes behind this critical mission through the personal stories of the astronauts and their families and a nation that held their breath hoping they would come home and breathe new life into an ailing America.”

Bostick and Friendly previously worked with Kluger to get ‘Apollo 13’ in front of Ron Howard so we know that the initial creative team is one to be respected. Bostick says “for us, this is a reunion of sorts, ” and with nine Oscar nominations and two wins, you can bet that another foray into Earth’s early space exploration is something that many will want to be watching.

No casting, writing, or directing announcements have been made at this time, but I expect we’ll be hearing quite a bit more about this project shortly. With the success of ‘Hidden Figures,‘ I’m pretty sure it is a safe bet that viewers are still quite interested in the personal stories behind space exploration.

Are you looking forward to ‘Apollo 8’? Do you feel that it will be able to have the same impact and audience draw on television that ‘Apollo 13’ did on the big screen? Share your thoughts below!

Source: Deadline