No matter how much sci-fi fans wring their hands and wish it would just go away, a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still just keeps on coming. As we’ve previously reported, Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Connelly have already been cast in the roles played by Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal in the 1951 original. Now comes word that a busy television actor will join Keanu and Jennifer in trying to keep Earth from screwing up once again.

The Hollywood Reporter says that Jon Hamm has joined the cast in the role of NASA official, Dr. Granier. He will lead a scientific team that includes Connelly’s character and is charged with investigating the arrival of a humanoid alien, Klaatu, played by Reeves. Klaatu has arrived on Earth to let us know that if we don’t live in peace, we will be destroyed. That hasn’t worked so well in Iraq, but Klaatu has a big robot buddy to kick-ass and take names.

Hamm was recently nominated for a Golden Globe for the AMC series, Mad Men. He has also appeared in The Unit and What About Brian in just the last year. Other places you saw him regularly was on The Division and Providence. I’ve personally never watched any of those shows so he’s a complete mystery to me. Despite that, he is already on set and the movie started filming in Canada on December 12th. Look for Klaatu and friends in late 2008.