The Right Stuff (franchise)

The Right Stuff
Official franchise logo
Based on	The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
Starring	Various (See list below)
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures, Disney+
Release date	1983–present
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$27,000,000 (Cumulative of 1 theatrical film)
Box office	$21,713,000 (Cumulative of 1 theatrical film)

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 and box office success, and was nominated for various Academy Awards;^[1] winning a number of those nominations.^[2] In contrast to these accolades, the movie was a disappointment financially at the box office.^[3] Conversely the television series adaptation, was met with negative reviews from critics and viewers alike who compared it as inferior to the original.^[4][5][6] 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,^[7][8] but complaints calling it "boring".^[9][10] 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.^[11]

Film

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.^{[2][12][13][14][15]}

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.^{[16][10][9][8][7]}

Television

In July 2017, a television series adaptation of the 1983 film was announced as being in development.