The cast of James Cameron’s sci-fi epic “Avatar” has grown by one, adding Giovanni Ribisi to the list of signees to boldly go where no one has gone — wait, this isn’t Star Trek. Nevermind. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Ribisi will play Selfridge, who is described as a passive-aggressive character. Ribisi joins a cast that already includes Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez. They’ll all be working under Cameron, who will write and direct, and has promised to show off some new fandangle CGI technology while he’s at it. You know Cameron: do it big, or don’t do it at all seems to be his motto.

The $190 million “Avatar” is set for release May 22, 2009, and features a blend of live-action photography and new virtual photorealistic production techniques invented by Cameron’s team. The film features six computer-generated actors known as “synthespians” and is in production in Los Angeles and next month starts production in New Zealand at Weta Digital.

Ribisi is a good actor, and can barely play anything you throw at him, so this is a good get for Cameron.

“Avatar” is set for 2009.