Josh Gad boards Roland Emmerich's disaster thriller 'Moonfall'

Actor Josh Gad has been roped in to feature in filmmaker Roland Emmerich's latest disaster thriller, titled "Moonfall".

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is written by Emmerich, his "2012" co-writer Harald Kloser and Spenser Cohen.

The plot follows the aftermath of when the moon is knocked from its orbit by a mysterious force and is on a collision course with Earth.

Life hangs in the balance and with just weeks to go before impact, a ragtag team is sent on a near impossible mission to land on the lunar surface and save humanity.

In the ensemble cast, Gad will play a character named KC Houseman described by the filmmakers as odd and unkempt in a way that suggests a high level of intelligence and an equally high level of disorganisation.

A genius who correctly predicts that the moon has fallen out of its orbit, KC is a space-obsessed and an eccentric man.

Emmerich is producing the film under his Centropolis banner with Kloser via his company, Street Entertainment.

The makers are hoping to start production later this year.