Jonny Lee Miller and Common are to star in 'Nine Lives'.

Jonny Lee Miller

Jonny Lee Miller

The 'Trainspotting' actor and the 'Suicide Squad' star have signed up to appear in the big screen adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's sci-fi novel of the same name, according to Deadline.

The dark comedy tells the story of two tired employees who work on a moon base for off-world drilling, and they are excited about human company only to be sent 10 clones instead.

Filming is due to get underway next summer on the movie, which will be directed by Siri Rodnes, who has also penned the screenplay, alongside Tom Basden.

Gavin Humphries and Josephine Rose will produce the motion picture.

The rights to the movie are expected to be up for sale at the Macau Film Market.

Miller is best known for portraying Simon 'Sick Boy' Williamson in 1996 cult film 'Trainspotting', and the 46-year-old star recently admitted the sequel, which was released in 2017, was tough to shoot because of the interest the motion picture has garnered over the years.

He said: "There's the challenge of like, when you're shooting 'Trainspotting' and everyone knows you're shooting 'Trainspotting' - [Director Danny Boyle] said it's like Scotland's 'Star Wars'.

"When we made the first movie, no one cared, right? No one knew who we were or what we were doing.

"[The sequel] was a little bit challenging because you've got people paying attention to you and it just sort of changes everything a little bit. You have to try to dodge people and try to lose photographers, and try and mask what you're doing because you don't want it ruined for everybody."

Common shot to fame as a rapper but has gone on to star in numerous films, including 2016's 'Suicide Squad', in which he played a gangster, and he portrayed a corrupt police officer in 'Date Night'.