Brian Cox has signed on to star in the big budget adventure comedy Pixels for Sony Pictures.

The project centers on aliens who misinterpret classic video game feeds as an attack against their kind. They respond by launching an attack on New York City, staging massive versions of classic video games. The story follows an aging video game champion (Adam Sandler) who is recruited by the U.S. President (Kevin James) to stop the attack. Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Michelle Monaghan co-star, with Brian Cox portraying a military leader named Admiral Porter.

Chris Columbus is directing from a screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, based on Patrick Jean's 2010 short film Pixels. Production is scheduled to begin in Toronto later this month.

Brian Cox most recently starred in Her, Red 2 and the new thriller Anna, which opened in theaters last weekend.