William Shatner on Filming 'Stars on Mars' Competition and Becoming Synonymous With Space (Exclusive)

etonline.com:

franchise and even going on a real-life suborbital spaceflight in 2021, William Shatner is now serving as Mission Control in the upcoming Fox reality series, .

The latest project just recements Shatner's longtime association with outer space, especially when it comes to the cultural zeitgeist.

But for the 92-year-old star, it's not something he could have predicted. «No, who knows?» he admitted to ET's Matt Cohen while reflecting on his decades-long career that also includes playing an alien on and his famous cover of David Bowie's «Space Oddity.»Premiering Monday, June 5, will see 12 celebrities preparing for and attempting to colonize the red planet in an all-new competition to be named «the brightest star in the galaxy.» Among them are Adam Rippon, Ariel Winters, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lance Armstrong, Marshawn Lynch, Natasha Leggergo, Porsha WIlliams Guobadia, Ronda Rousey, Richard Sherman, Tallulah Willis, Tinashe and Tom Schwartz.In order to become the top space invader, they will have to complete assignments issued to them from Shatner as they live and work together in the same space station and are faced with authentic conditions that simulate life on Mars.

Each week, the remaining celebrities will then vote to eliminate one of their crewmates, sending them back to Earth.Filmed in Australia, Shatner said that the «conditions are overwhelming,» with the cast «confined to quarters at the times [while] the circumstances outside were really ugly.» That said, «they were courageous and enthusiastic,» the host revealed, adding that over time, «they began to evolve into a team, into caring for one another.»    And not only were they put through weekly tasks that «required intelligence, which is very rare at this.