Will Smith and Darren Aronofsky team up for Nat Geo series

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Men in Black and Independence Day star Will Smith has signed on to host One Strange Rock, a 10-episode, National Geographic series from filmmaker Darren Aronofsky and producer Jane Root.

The program is slated to premiere in March.

"I am thrilled to have Will Smith on board to guide our series. 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," Aronofsky said in a statement Tuesday.

"By pairing the incomparable, out-of-this-world, global appeal of Will Smith with our rock-star astronauts, who literally went out of this world, we tell the incredible story of the complexities of our planet," added Tim Pastore, president of original programming and production at National Geographic. "With the distinctive storytelling from Aronofsky and Root, One Strange Rock will be an incredible visual treat, taking audiences from the microscopic to the cosmic, leaving viewers to see and appreciate our planet as never before."

Aronofsky's films include mother!, The Wrestler and Black Swan. Root is best known for her work on America: The Story of Us.