The next few months are shaping up to be huge for Janelle Monáe, and she doesn’t even have an album coming out (that we know of). Instead, the R&B star will be making her way to the big screen in a pair of anticipated films. Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight drops on October 21st, followed on January 13th by Ted Melfi’s Hidden Figures.
Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book Hidden Figures: The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race, the movie reveals the little-known true tale of Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Monáe). The trio were mathematician aces who helped NASA plan the Friendship 7 mission that first allowed an American astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Kevin Costner stars as the head of NASA, while Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell also feature. Pharrell Williams provided original music for the film alongside Hans Zimmer. Check out the trailer — which not only hints that Hidden Figures will be another surprisingly engaging film about math, but that Monáe has a good shot at making this acting thing another career — above.
Hidden Figures launches into theaters on January 13th, 2017.
