'Moonfall' Will Send Josh Gad To Space In Roland Emmerich's Next Disaster Movie

Josh Gad is going to outer space. The Beauty and the Beast actor is joining the cast of Moonfall, Roland Emmerich's latest disaster flick, which follows a ragtag team sent on a "seemingly impossible mission to land on the lunar surface and save humanity." Sounds like the kind of action thriller we'd get from the Independence Day director, but it's alien territory (pun intended) for Gad, who makes the leap to action blockbusters.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Josh Gad has closed a deal with Lionsgate to star in Moonfall, the latest disaster thriller from the director of Independence Day and 2012.

Written by Emmerich and his 2012 co-writer Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen, Moonfall sees humanity endangered after the moon is knocked from its orbit by a "mysterious force" and is set to collide with Earth. "Life as we know it hangs in the balance and with just weeks to go before impact, a ragtag team is sent on a seemingly impossible mission to land on the lunar surface and save humanity," according to THR's description of the film.

Gad, who is the first star to join the ensemble cast, will play a character named KC Houseman, an "odd and unkempt" character with a "high level of intelligence and an equally high level of disorganization." The filmmakers describe him as a "genius who correctly predicts that the moon has fallen out of its orbit, thus making the space-obsessed, profoundly unfiltered and eccentric man one of the most important people on Earth."

Gad's star continues to rise following his breakout role as the lovable snowman Olaf in Frozen, landing bigger and bigger roles in recent years. While the comedian continued to play his fair share of supporting stooges, Gad landed a role in Disney's massive live-action Beauty and the Beast and tried his hand at Agatha Christie whodunits with Murder on the Orient Express and dramas with Marshall. Gad has also kept busy behind-the-scenes, recently co-creating the animated series Central Park for Apple+. It seemed only a matter of time before Gad would get a part in a blockbuster flick by Emmerich.

Lionsgate, which last partnered with Emmerich for the 2019 World War II action movie Midway, is eyeing a fall production start. Emmerich is producing Moonfall under his Centropolis banner with Kloser producing through his company, Street Entertainment.