Prime Video’s biography, A Million Miles Away, directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and starring Michael Pea of Narcos: Mexico, has begun filming in Mexico City. The life story of American engineer and former astronaut José Moreno Hernández is the basis for this uplifting film. Rosa Salazar, Bobby Soto, Julio Cesar Cedillo, Veronica Falcón, Sarayu Blue, and Eric Johnson have all been reported as joining the cast of the film, which was just announced by Prime Video. Abella, Gilois (Bessie), and Hernàn Jiménez adapted the actual tale of former astronaut Hernández, who as a child helped out on the family’s migrant farms in California and Michoacán, Mexico, spending nine months in California and three months in Michoacán.
His autobiography, Reaching for the Stars, describes how, at the age of six, Hernández would leave his home with his family at dawn to help with the harvest, only to be drawn away from the bright lights of civilization by the allure of the stars. It was clear to him after seeing the historic moon landing in 1969 (and, of course, watching episodes of Star Trek) that there was no ceiling to the greatness that awaited him. Determination and the love and support of his family helped Hernández overcome 11 NASA rejections and make history as the first migrant farmworker to travel to space. Pea is scheduled to star; he is well-known for his work in Narcos: Mexico on Netflix and as Luis, Scott Lang’s (Paul Rudd) outspoken buddy and ally in the Ant-Man films.
American Hustle (directed by David O. Russell), Crash (which won an Oscar), and 12 Strong (starring Chris Hemsworth) are among his other filmography entries. Pea is joined by his co-stars from Narcos, Soto and Cedillo (Sicario), Salazar (Brenda in The Maze Runner franchise) and by Falcón (Ozark, Queen of the South, Blue, Fifty Shades Darker), all of whom can be seen on Netflix. Aside from Jordan Dean and Ashley Ciarra, the cast also includes Michelle Krusiec, Emma Fassler, Michael Adler, Carols Sanchez, and Isaac Arellanes. Abella’s previous films, the intense drama Semana Santa and the critically acclaimed The Good Girls, both set amid the economic crisis that hit Mexico in 1982, have also been filmed in Spanish.
As someone who is used to fighting against the odds, Abella can relate to Hernández’s experience. Similar to the #MeToo movement in the United States, the filmmaker “spearheaded Mexico’s Ya Es Hora initiative” to denounce gender assault, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Campbell McInnes and Mark Ciardi of Select Films are producing the feature film, with help from executive producers Kyle Convissar and Benito Martinez.
Presently, there is no confirmed date for the publication of A Million Miles Away.