Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion moves to Universal, Tom Cruise in talks to star?

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Well that didn’t take long…

Only two weeks after reporting that Disney had dismissed TRON: LEGACY director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi alien epic OBLIVION (also referred to as HORIZONS), Deadline is now claiming Universal is in the driver’s seat to pick up the film. Not only that, but Tom Cruise is in early talks to star in the picture.

Word is a deal is imminent, providing Kosinski agrees to tackle the film under a $100 million budget. Cruise hasn’t signed yet either, though discussions are currently taking place. The goal for Universal is to lens the film this October.

Originally written by William Monahan (THE DEPARTED, LONDON BOULEVARD), and subsequently reworked by Karl Gajdusek – OBLIVION (HORIZONS) centers on a battle-damaged soldier who, assigned to a desolate planet after a court-martial, patrols the bleak landscape in an effort to destroy the last vestiges of a primitive alien race. When a mysterious traveler arrives unexpectedly, their lives become inextricably linked as they are forced to question everything they know about this world and themselves.

For Universal, this could make a nice slot replacement for AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS, which they had to let go due to its inflated budget and R-rated material. And while OBLIVION was deemed a bit too dark for Disney, Kosinski has proven he can make a PG-13 populist film (TRON: LEGACY has raked in nearly $400 million worldwide). As you may recall, Tom Cruise was once attached to MOUNTAINS as well.

TRON: LEGACY hottie Olivia Wilde!

Source: Deadline

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