Janelle Monáe Cast In Space Movie Hidden Figures

Janelle Monáe has been cast as the third lead in the space race drama Hidden Figures, The Wrap reports. Directed by St. Vincent's Ted Melfi and based on Margot Lee Shetterly's upcoming book Hidden Figures: The Story Of The African-American Women Who Helped Win The Space Race, the film follows the story of three black women involved in NASA's 1962 Friendship 7 mission, through which astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth. Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson, and Octavia Spencer star as mathematicians Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Dorothy Vaughan, respectively, and Kevin Costner is co-starring as the head of the space program. Although she is also appearing in the upcoming film Moonlight, this marks Monáe's first starring role in a studio movie.