'Project Artemis' with Scarlett Johansson, filmed at Kennedy Space Center, gets release date

Jennifer Sangalang, Florida Today
·6 min read
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”Project Artemis” is a go for release. The Space Race-era romantic comedy, which was partially filmed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, stars Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.

A video on social platform X (formerly known as Twitter) went viral Jan. 11, with people offering answers as to why there were vintage cars at Kennedy Space Center. The cars were parked at the Vehicle Assembly Building for "Project Artemis."

News reports show "Project Artemis" will be released Friday, July 12, 2024, in theaters before it hits Apple TV+ for streaming. That's days before the 55th anniversary of the July 16, 1969, Apollo moon landing with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

Production trucks were spotted at NASA in March 2023, with about 25 to 30 vintage cars lined the parking lot in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building (more on that below). Some prop pieces like light poles were installed, too, according to veteran FLORIDA TODAY photojournalist Craig Bailey, who did a walk-through at the Kennedy Space Center "set." At the time, FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team reached out to Kennedy Space Center about filming: "A romantic comedy will be filmed at various locations on Kennedy over the next several weeks. It will be a closed set, and all of the extras have been cast."

Directed by Greg Berlanti, the film originally starred Johansson and fellow "Avengers" co-star Chris Evans, according to the Hollywood Reporter, before Tatum was cast as his replacement in July 2022. That month, Berlanti also took over directing duties after actor Jason Bateman left the project, THR reports.

Production on the film coincided with a pair of rocket launches at Kennedy Space Center: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:13 p.m. EST Monday, Feb. 27, 2023. Then NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station from Kennedy Space Center at 12:34 p.m. March 2, 2023.

Here's what we know about "Project Artemis," the movie's stars and Kennedy Space Center's role in the film.

What is 'Project Artemis?'

"Project Artemis" is a 1960s space race film for Apple TV, starring Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Woody Harrelson, Ray Romano and Jim Rash. It is being directed by Greg Berlanti with a script written by Rose Gilroy.

The film has been described as a romantic comedy set around the 1969 Apollo 11 moon launch, which occurred at Kennedy Space Center.

Production was underway with scenes already shot in Tybee Island, Georgia, in December 2022, and filming at Kennedy Space Center in late February and March 2023.

Was Scarlett Johansson in Florida to film a movie?

According to posts on social media, there are photos of Johansson wearing a red dress and her hair in a vintage style with the caption: "Scarlett Johansson on the set of 'Project Artemis' today (Feb. 27) in Florida."

What scenes are being shot at Kennedy Space Center?

On March 1, 2023, about 30 cars were parked in front of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The VAB, one of the largest single-story buildings in the world, is where crews build space vehicle components such as the space shuttles, the Saturn V rocket and Artemis I rocket.

Some light poles set by the vintage cars are movie props − they moved when they were touched, and they were on a platform. Also, FLORIDA TODAY's Space Team noted, the light poles were set where they shouldn't be, and the shape of the pole doesn't look like any of the light poles at Kennedy Space Center.

Of the vintage cars, these stuck out:

  • a bright blue vehicle with a News 6 logo and "CBKY-TV Beyond the Story" painted on the side in white

  • a white John F. Kennedy Space Center Emergency Response vintage ambulance van

  • a vintage white Ranch Wagon limousine with the NASA logo and "National Aeronautics and Space Administration" painted on the driver's side door

  • a red vintage N.A.S.A./KSC fire department truck

  • a gold Chevelle

  • a Newswatch van

On Feb. 27, 2023, as the sun went down, a helicopter got aerial views of the areas around the Vehicle Assembly Building. Film crews were stationed around the Kennedy Space Center press site. Coincidentally, a lot of photographers and reporters were at Kennedy Space Center because of the SpaceX rocket launch (mentioned above).

Is this the first space movie filmed at Kennedy Space Center?

No. "Project Artemis" joins a long list of movies that have been filmed at Kennedy Space Center. It could, however, be the first space movie in 2023 to film at the space center.

What other movies have been filmed at Kennedy Space Center, Florida?

  • "First Man," starring Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong, first human to walk on the moon; Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin; and Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong

  • "Armageddon," starring Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Steve Buscemi and Owen Wilson

  • "Tomorrowland," starring George Clooney, Britt Robertson and Hugh Laurie

Who is Greg Berlanti?

Fans of DC will know Greg Berlanti as a showrunner and executive producer of CW faves like "Arrow" and "The Flash." He has directed films like "Love, Simon" (starring Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garer and Josh Duhamel) and "Life As We Know It" (starring Duhamel and Katherine Heigl).

Where was 'Project Artemis' filmed?

News reports say filming for the Johansson-Tatum romantic comedy started in October 2022. As of Jan. 15, 2024, these are the locations that "Project Artemis" has been filmed, according to IMDB:

Will 'Project Artemis' be released in the theaters?

"Project Artemis" will be released on Apple TV and in select theaters nationwide July 12, 2024.

Contributing: Jamie Groh, FLORIDA TODAY

Sangalang is a Florida Audience Team lead producer and social media champ. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byjensangalang. Please consider subscribing to a USA TODAY Network-Florida newspaper at offers.usatodaynetwork.com/network-regional-florida.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Vintage cars at NASA in Florida for 'Project Artemis' space race movie