Jules Verne's 1872 adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days is being made into an eight-part TV series, reports Deadline Hollywood. And who's to play explorer Phileas Fogg? You guessed it! Our very own David Tennant.

The Doctor Who alum takes the lead, along with French actor Ibrahim Koma to play Fogg's valet, Passepartout. Fogg is a wealthy man and spends a lot of his time at a members-only club. It's at the club where he's challenged by his peers to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. There's a £20,000 wager set, which is half of his savings. The other half is put to funding the trip.

Fogg and his valet set out from London, joined by journalist Abigail Fix to document their travels, played by Leonie Benesch (The Crown).

This isn't the first time Verne's story has been adapted for TV, with Pierce Brosnan starring in the 1989 miniseries:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1M2WUhrQeg

And before that, there was the 1956 movie starring David Niven:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjiCO8k6Jhg

Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan also gave it a go in 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2XNULhMC18

The description for the TV series doesn't say if it's going to follow the novel's storyline or be modernized. But to circle the Earth with today's technology wouldn't necessarily be all that challenging. That leads us to believe it will in fact be a period drama, set in the 19th century.

If Tennant were to borrow the TARDIS, it would make the trip a whole lot quicker. But, it'd be a very short TV series.

Around the World in 80 Days is set to premiere in 2020. U.K. viewers can look for the series on BBC, with a U.S. broadcaster still to be announced.

Are you keen to see David Tennant bop around in a hot air balloon!?