Oscar-nominated 12 Years a Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to take on the lead role in a new series based on The Man Who Fell To Earth.

The original cult 1976 sci-fi film, directed by Nicholas Roeg, follows an alien (David Bowie) called Thomas Jerome Newton who poses as a human on Earth and tries to save his home planet.

The new series will stream on the Paramount+ platform, with the actor tapped to play the lead extraterrestrial role - a character made famous by Bowie.

The film co-starred Rip Torn, Candy Clark and Buck Henry, and captured Bowie as his music entered his Thin White Duke phase.

Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek) and Jenny Lumet (The Mummy) will act as co-showrunners, co-writing and executive producing The Man Who Fell To Earth.

“Chiwetel Ejiofor’s stage and film career are staggering in their bravery, commitment and quality,” the pair told Deadline about the star's involvement.

“He’s everything we could imagine and a million things we can’t. We couldn’t be more thrilled.”

The new Man Who Fell To Earth series was first announced back in 2019, with Kurtzman and Lumet saying at the time that the show will explore “the next chapter” in the story.

“Some strings will connect to both the novel and the film but if you haven’t seen the film or haven’t read the novel, it’s fine,” Kurtzman said.

“You’ll get to have an experience that’s entirely singular. If you have, you’ll have the benefit of understanding the history of the world that both of those things set up.”

“We loved the emotional moments in the book and we loved the visual spectacle of the movie,” Lumet added. “We’re taking it forward.”

Ejiofor's sci-fi credits include Children of Men, The Martian, Doctor Strange, and Z For Zachariah. He also directed the highly-regarded Netflix drama The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind in 2019.