Kristen Stewart has signed on to essay the role of astronaut Sally Ride in the limited series The Challenger. The series marks Stewart's debut in a fiction series. Ride is the first woman from the US to fly on the space shuttle. Maggie Cohn, best known for American Crime Story, Narcos: Mexico, and The Staircase, will serve as the showrunner and writer of The Challenger. It is based on Meredith E Bagby's book titled 'The New Guys'.

Actor Kyra Sedgwick's banner Big Swing Productions not only developed the project but also brought it to Amblin Entertainment. Big Swing Productions is executive producing the film, alongside Amblin Entertainer's Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank and Stewart's label Nevermind.

About Stewart's casting Sedgwick said, "Who better to play Sally Ride than one of the great actors of her generation?"

The actor also has films such as Flesh Of The Gods, Sacramento, and Sontag in the pipeline.