Nichelle Nichols NASA documentary Woman in Motion to be distributed by Shout! Studios in North America

Nichelle Nichols, from the documentary Woman in Motion

Woman in Motion, the NASA documentary featuring Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols, is set for North American release from Shout! Studios, the same group who released the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary, What We Left Behind, back in 2019. While Woman in Motion will address Nichols’ influence through her role on Star Trek, the film focuses on her tireless work with NASA recruitment during the late 1970s into the 1980s, a time which would see the first female, African American and Latino astronauts enter America’s space program.

“This is a great American story with incredible global impact,” director Todd Thompson said in an interview with Deadline. “Nichelle Nichols strived to create a brighter future for us all by proclaiming that space exploration is for everyone. It’s a simple but very strong statement that opens doors and allows all humankind to boldly go.”

Woman in Motion executive producer (and civil rights attorney) Benjamin Crump also spoke to the impact Nichols made at NASA, saying, “She took the fight for civil rights, diversity and inclusion, and gender equality to new frontiers with NASA which continue to serve America’s space program today. She was ahead of her time.”

Astronauts Eileen Collins and Winston Scott appear in the film along with several members of  the Star Trek community, including George Takei, Michael Dorn, the late D.C. Fontana and many more.

Shout! Studios will be releasing Woman in Motion with a “launch date” sometime in 2021, but a visit to the film’s website womaninmotionmovie.com will surely keep you busy until then. There, you can access the trailer for the documentary, as well as the extensive cast list with biographies. You can even download the 20-page executive summary of Nichelle Nichols’ campaign with NASA, part of a 400-page report on her efforts to reshape America’s space program for a more inclusive future.