Aisling Bea is heading to Mars — well, at least in fiction. The Irish actress and BAFTA TV winner has joined the cast of STARMAN, The Hollywood Reporter has exclusively revealed, marking another high-profile addition to an already stacked ensemble. Bea joins Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, known for THE WHALE and THE MUMMY, and two-time Emmy winner Jeff Daniels, familiar to audiences from DUMB AND DUMBER and THE NEWSROOM, in the cosmic sci-fi thriller currently filming in Australia. Emmy winner Josh Wakely, who created BEAT BUGS, is directing from his own original screenplay, giving the project a singular creative vision from page to screen.

STARMAN follows Tom Adams, played by Fraser, an architect of the future who leads a historic expedition to Mars and finds himself at the forefront of humanity’s next great frontier. When unforeseen events leave him stranded millions of miles from Earth, his mission transforms into a desperate race against time, fuelled equally by survival instinct and love. Bea steps into the role of Julia Hanley, a defiant and magnetic Irish photographer who looks past Tom’s world-changing ambition to find the man underneath, ultimately redefining his life through love. It’s a role that should give Bea real emotional range to work with, a shift from the comedic sharpness audiences know her for and a chance to anchor the human heart of a big-swing space epic. With Fraser and Daniels already bringing serious pedigree to the production, Bea’s casting only raises the intrigue around what Wakely is building with STARMAN, and Irish audiences will have plenty of reason to watch this one closely as it takes shape in Australia.