Til Schweiger is to take one of the leads in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1, Michael "Bully" Herbig's follow-up to his surprise 2001 hit Manitou's Shoe

Schweiger, who appeared in last year's Was Tun, Wenn's Brennt and Drive, will play opposite the Manitou acting trio of Herbig, Rick Kavanian and Christian Tramitz in the sendup of the Star Trek series and films. The female lead is Anja Kling whose credits include Von Hoelle Zu Hoelle and the TV series Liebesau.

Herbig's herbXfilm will finance the production which plans to start principal photography this April. A German theatrical premiere is scheduled for summer 2004 by Manitou distributor Constantin Film which has also picked up video and DVD rights. As with Manitou, German TV rights have been acquired by private broadcaster ProSieben.

Herbig decided on his new film project last June after calling on viewers of his TV show Bullyparade to vote among four alternatives via the website www.bullypara.de.