Tate Taylor is set to direct an imaginative alternate history of the 1969 Apollo 11 space mission, titled In the Event of a Moon Disaster.

The film gets its name and concept from a speech President Richard Nixon had drafted in preparation for the historic space mission, in which the first man walked on the moon. Nixon commissioned presidential speechwriter and Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Safire to write the speech, which the president planned to read to a bereaved nation if the mission had a tragic outcome, as many feared it would.

The draft document was uncovered following Safire’s death in 2009. The intriguing story explores what might have happened if this monumental mission in human history had failed.

Known for writing and directing the Oscar-winning hit film The Help, Taylor is adding an eclectic batch of movies to his résumé. He recently directed the highly anticipated James Brown biopic Get on Up, due out in August.

The script is being written by journalist-turned-award-winning-screenwriter Mike Jones.

The Guardian quoted FilmNation’s Karen Lunder, the executive responsible for bringing the project to Taylor, saying, “Tate is an incredibly talented artist in every sense, and we have been actively searching for the right project to collaborate on,” adding, “We’re thrilled to have found it with Moon.”

In the Event of a Moon Disaster is expected to start filming early next year.