The Right Stuff franchise consists of American historical drama installments, including film and television mediums. Each installment details the aeronautical research at Edwards Air Force Base in California, United States, which lead to the Mercury Seven where seven military pilots were selected to be astronauts for Project Mercury; the first human spaceflight by the United States. Pilots were chosen from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force. A television series was developed by Warner Bros. for National Geographic, and upon being acquired by The Walt Disney Company, the studio also green-lit a documentary feature film; both were released as streaming exclusives available on Disney+.

The original film was met with critical acclaim, and was nominated for various Academy Awards; winning a number of those nominations. In contrast to these accolades, the movie was a disappointment financially at the box office. Conversely the television series adaptation, was met with negative reviews from critics and viewers alike who compared it as inferior to the original. The accompanying documentary movie was met with a mixed response with praise given to its director for the use of archival recordings and lack of modern-day narration, but complaints calling it "boring". Despite this reception and its cancellation on Disney+, the television show was actively being shopped around to other networks and streaming services at that time.

Film Film U.S. release date Director Writer Producers The Right Stuff Philip Kaufman Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff The Real Right Stuff Tom Jennings Rob Kirk and Chris Morcom

The Right Stuff (1983)

The non-fiction account of the first fifteen years of America's space program are explored, detailing the experiences of the lives of test pilots who became known as the Mercury Seven, including: Chuck Yeager, Virgil Grissom, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Walter Schirra, and Donald Slayton. Explored in detail are the dangers and pitfalls that transpired during NASA's earliest attempts, failures, and achievements. During a time of national political turmoil and a race to become the dominant power in space travel, each of their familial trials are depicted with personal crises they endured resulting in great technological innovation and advancements as well.

The Real Right Stuff (2020)

Released as a documentary feature film created through a compilation of archival footage, photographs, and audio; the film details the events that transpired in the space race during the Cold War. The events detailed include America's technological advancements in space exploration, and the original Mercury Seven astronauts who played a role in completing these missions. The Real Right Stuff shows how these historical events inspired the future, including modern-day scientific studies of outer space.

Television

In July 2017, a television series adaptation of the 1983 film was announced as being in development. By February 2019, the project was ordered to series and was created and written by Will Staples, with Mark Lafferty serving as showrunner. The show centered around the same factual events that were depicted in the original movie, though expanded upon with additional detail given the long-form storytelling format. The project was a joint-venture production between National Geographic Studios, Appian Way Productions, Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Horizon Scripted Television, and Disney+ Originals; while National Geographic handled distribution through its parent company The Walt Disney Company, exclusively via their Disney+ streaming service.

The Right Stuff debuted on October 9, 2020 and lasted until November 20, 2020; including a total of eight episodes. The series was met with mixed critical reception overall, being declared inferior to the feature film. By April 2021, the television show was canceled at Disney+ and not renewed for a second season despite earlier plans to do so. The series was being shopped around to other networks for a renewal at that point in time, and as the series was created by Warner Bros. Television and developed for National Geographic prior to the latter's acquisition by The Walt Disney Company, HBO Max and Turner Network Television are frontrunners in the acquiring series move. Though the cast's contracts were pending termination, the associated studios are working to negotiate for a second season.

Main cast and characters

Character Film Television The Right Stuff The Real Right Stuff Charles "Chuck" Yeager Sam Shepard Virgil "Gus" Grissom Fred Ward Michael Trotter Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Dennis Quaid Colin O'Donoghue John Glenn Ed Harris Patrick J. Adams Alan Shepard Scott Glenn Jake McDorman Walter "Wally" Schirra Lance Henriksen Aaron Staton Donald "Deke" Slayton Scott Paulin Micah Stock Scott Carpenter Charles Frank James Lafferty

Additional crew and production details TitleCrew/Detail Composer(s) Cinematographer(s) Editor(s) Production companies Distributing company Running time The Right Stuff Bill Conti Caleb Deschanel Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Stephen A. Rotter, Douglas Stewart & Tom Rolf The Ladd Company Warner Bros. Pictures 3 hrs 12 mins The Real Right Stuff James Everingham Tom Jennings David Tillman Walt Disney Television, 1985 Films, National Geographic Original Documentaries Disney+ 2 hrs The Right Stuff Adam Taylor Evans Brown, Christopher Norr, Peter Menzies Jr., and Adam Suschitzky Matt Barber, Paul Karasick, Pattye Rogers, Matthew Colona & Luyen Vu Walt Disney Television, Appian Way Productions, Warner Horizon Television Studios, National Geographic Original Series 6 hrs

Reception

Box office and financial performance Title Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Worldwide Total loss North America Other territories Worldwide All time North America All time worldwide The Right Stuff $21,500,000 $213 $21,713,000 #3,488 #22,238 $27,000,000 -$5,287,000

Critical and public response Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic The Right Stuff 96% (50 reviews) 91/100 (16 reviews) The Real Right Stuff (4 reviews) The Right Stuff 55% (31 reviews) 61/100 (22 reviews)

References