Intergalactic Comics: Will Smith to Host One Strange Rock, New Series from National Geographic and Darren Aronofsky

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Will Smith to Host One Strange Rock, New Series from National Geographic and Darren Aronofsky

By: Haylee Fisher (@haylee_fisher)

Picture it now: The Fresh mother! Of Bel-Air.

So, not quite, but National Geographic has tapped Will Smith to host the new series One Strange Rock from Darren Aronofsky (mother!, Black Swan) and award-winning producer Jane Root.

Smith announced the news today on Facebook through a teaser video:

“I am thrilled to have Will Smith on board to guide our series,” Aronofsky said in a press release. “His charisma, intelligence, and humanity will add greatly to the project, helping welcome viewers into this unique narrative about the mind-blowing wonders that make life on Earth possible.”

One Strange Rock is the story of Earth – what makes it extraordinary, what makes it unique – and will feature an elite group of astronauts offering their unique perspectives and personal experiences on what makes our planet so great. They include:

• Chris Hadfield – The first Canadian astronaut to command the International Space Station and the only Canadian to have ever boarded the Russian Space Station Mir while in orbit, Hadfield has left Earth three times and spent a total of 166 days in space.

• Jeff Hoffman – Logging 21.5 million miles in space, Brooklyn-born astronomer and former astronaut Hoffman has flown to space five times, one of which was the first mission to reach the Hubble Space Telescope.

• Mae Jemison – Former astronaut Jemison just celebrated the 25th anniversary of her mission to space aboard the Endeavour, making history as the first African-American woman to go to space.

• Jerry Linenger – Former astronaut Linenger, who survived the most severe fire ever aboard an orbiting spacecraft, spent nearly five months on the Russian space station Mir and logged 50 million miles on that mission alone.

• Mike Massimino – The first person to send a tweet from space, former astronaut Massimino flew on two space shuttle missions to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

• Leland Melvin – The only person drafted into the NFL to have flown to space, former astronaut Melvin blasted off to space twice and logged more than 565 hours there.

• Nicole Stott – Known as the “Artistic Astronaut,” former astronaut and aquanaut Stott, who became the first astronaut to paint in space, logged 104 days in space and nearly three weeks on Aquarius undersea habitat.

• Peggy Whitson – Astronaut Whitson just completed her third journey to space, setting a NASA record for the most days in space: 665.

One Strange Rock will take viewers on an epic and mind-bending journey through the complexities of Earth, from the microscopic to the cosmic, by utilizing exceptional cinematography and spectacular science. The ten-part series was filmed over 45 countries, six continents, and outer space. It will premiere globally on National Geographic in March 2018 in 172 countries and 43 languages.