Photo: Lionsgate / Courtesy Everett

Halle Berrychanged the name of the game inMoonfall.
While recently speaking withEntertainment Tonight, directorRoland Emmerichtold the outlet that the 55-year-old actress' role in the upcoming sci-fi disaster film was originally written for a man.
Of the reimagining of the role, astronaut Jocinda “Jo” Fowler, Emmerich said, “It was kind of a relatively conscious decision at one point.”
“It was more male-oriented and then we kind of said to ourselves, ‘Why can’t it be a woman?’ " recalled the filmmaker, 66. “And then you say, ‘Who’s kind of cool in a way [that works for this film?],’ and then we come relatively fast to Halle Berry because she’s a little bit olderand she has done a lot of stuff.”
“And she was the first person to be approached and immediately said, ‘Yes,’ " he shared.
Halle Berry goes to space in ‘Moonfall.'.Lionsgate

In the same conversation, Berry joked to her costarPatrick Wilsonof their main roles, “Your work wife could have been a man, Patrick.”
“That’s right,” he replied. “Hey, I’m fine with a man ‘work wife.’ It was awesome, come on! I’ve wanted to work with Halle for a long time, so I’ll take it [in] whatever form it comes, even if we’rein crazy space suits trying to act like we’re floating.”
“So it was a complete joy,” Wilson raved.
RELATED VIDEO: Watch Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson and John Bradley in Teaser Trailer forMoonfall
Moonfallfollows former astronaut and NASA executive Jo Fowler (Berry) as she recruits astronaut Brian Harper (Wilson) and conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) for a mysterious mission into space.
Alongside Berry, Wilson and Bradley, 33, the film also starsMichael Peña,Charlie Plummer, Kelly Yu, Eme Ikwuakor and Carolina Bartczak.Donald Sutherlandalso appears.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.
“Some people believe that megastructures are a built shell around a star,” he explained. “Enormous, enormous structures that are more or less like a cage around a captured star.”
Moonfallhits theaters Friday.
source: people.com