Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was nominated for an Oscar this past year for his role in 12 Years a Slave has joined the cast of The Martian, Ridley Scott’s adaptation of the Andy Weir novel. Ejiofor will play Venkat Kapoor, the director of the Mars mission in the film.

The Martian centers on an astronaut (played by Matt Damon) who finds himself stranded on Mars when his crew is forced to abort their sixty-day mission.

The Martian is set for release on November 27th, 2015. Ridley Scott is directing from a script by Cabin in the Woods director Drew Goddard. The cast includes Matt Damon, Kate Mara, Jessica Chastain, Michael Pena, Sean Bean and Kristen Wiig.