The first trailer for the autobiographical film Hidden Figures premiered online Sunday (Aug. 14) and wastes no time showcasing the three African-American women behind NASA’s Mercury and Apollo missions. Taking a reprieve from her role as the outlandish and audacious Cookie Lyon on ratings juggernaut Empire, Academy Award nominee Taraji P. Henson dresses down for her role as the bespectacled Katherine Johnson, a NASA mathematician who helped launch astronaut John Glenn into outer space and aided in the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. Aside from Henson, the film also stars Academy Award winning actress Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughan and singing sensation Janelle Monáe as Mary Jackson.
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Hidden Figures is based off the nonfiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly. The film also stars Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons and Mahershala Ali in supporting roles. The film is set to be released in theaters on January 13, 2017. As if we needed any other reason to celebrate, the motion picture will also be the first space movie to focus exclusively on the contributions of the African-American community.
Watch the trailer below.