In Brief

Matt Damon Joins Cast of Sci-Fi Thriller 'Interstellar'

Matt Damon Fights in 'Elysium'
Matt Damon (right) stars in Columbia Pictures' "Elysium," which promises lots of action. Opens August 9, 2013. (Image credit: Kimberley French/Columbia TriStar Marketing Group)

Matt Damon is off on another sci-fi adventure. Fresh off his star turn in this year's blockbuster "Elysium," the actor will play a small role in the thriller "Interstellar," which is scheduled to come out in November 2014.

"Interstellar" follows a band of explorers who travel between the stars by going through a wormhole. The film is directed by Christopher Nolan, who also helmed "Memento" (2002), "Inception" (2010) and the last three Batman titles — "Batman Begins" (2005), "The Dark Knight" (2008) and "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) — among other films.

"Interstellar" has some serious star power. In addition to Damon, it features Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, Michael Caine, Topher Grace, Casey Affleck, Jon Lithgow and several other prominent actors.

The film is based on a treatment by Caltech theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, who is also serving as an executive producer. So there's a good chance that "Interstellar" will place a priority on getting most of its science right.

The news of Damon's involvement was first broken by The Playlist, which reported that the actor will have a small role. He'll be participating in just two weeks of filming, while the entire film will shoot for about four months, according to The Playlist.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on SPACE.com.

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Mike Wall
Senior Space Writer

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.