Whatever happened to The Challenger, that Michelle Williams-as-Christa McAuliffe feature about the 1986 space shuttle tragedy that was announced in October ’18? At one point it was going to shoot in May ’19. Land of Mine director Martin Zandvliet would’ve directed, based on a script by Jayson Rothwell.
Challenger: The Final Flight (Netflix, 9.16) is a four-part doc series about same. Executive produced by J.J. Abrams, produced by Glen Zipper, directed by Daniel Junge (Being Evel, A Lego Brickumentary) and Steven Leckart (What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali).
Wiki excerpt: “Some experts believe most if not all of the crew were alive and possibly conscious during the entire descent until impact with the ocean. Astronaut and NASA lead accident investigator Robert Overmyer said, ‘I not only flew with Dick Scobee, we owned a plane together, and I know Scob did everything he could to save his crew. Scob fought for any and every edge to survive. He flew that ship without wings all the way down…they were alive.'”