It’s been 32 years since teacher and astronaut Christa McAuliffe died, alongside six other people, in the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The winner of a national competition to find the first educator to be sent into space, McAuliffe spent a year training for the flight, becoming a national media favorite in the process thanks in large part to her enthusiasm for spaceflight and learning of all persuasions.
Now, actress Michelle Williams will have to wrestle with capturing the tragedy of McAuliffe’s life, with Variety reporting that Williams has been cast in Martin Zandvliet’s upcoming film The Challenger. Williams recently co-starred in I Feel Pretty and The Greatest Showman, and appears in this weekend’s new superhero flick, Venom.