A new trailer and poster have been released for Joseph Kosinski‘s sci-fi action film, Oblivion.  The story takes place on a dystopian Earth, and stars Tom Cruise as a drone repairman who holds the future of mankind in his hands after discovering a crashed spaceship.  The first trailer didn’t do much for me, but this new trailer does a much better job of laying out the plot, the conflict, and the larger world.  Now I’m intrigued, and I hope that Kosinski can deliver on the premise.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer as well as Spanish poster.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, and Melissa Leo.  Oblivion opens April 19th.

The first official synopsis for TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi pic Oblivion has landed online.  The film is described as “an original and groundbreaking cinematic event,” and Tom Cruise stars as one of the last remaining drone repairman stationed on a future Earth.  He works as part of a mission to extract vital resources from the ground following a decades-long war with a threat known as the Scavs, which lead to humans moving civilization to the skies thousands of feet above.  When Cruise’s character rescues a beautiful stranger (Andrea Riseborough) from a downed spacecraft, events are set in motion that force him to “question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.”

It’s an ambitious follow-up to the (visually) spectacular TRON: Legacy, and having Cruise onboard as the lead is a major plus.  The synopsis release also notes that Kosinski is shooting Oblivion in digital 4K resolution in the U.S. and Iceland.  The supporting cast includes Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olga Kurylenko, Melissa Leo, and Morgan Freeman.  Oblivion hits theaters on April 26th, 2013.  Hit the jump to read the full synopsis.

Oscar winner Melissa Leo is going sci-fi. Deadline reports that The Fighter actress has signed on to join the cast of Joseph Kosinski’s (Tron: Legacy) sci-fi pic Oblivion. Tom Cruise stars as a veteran soldier who’s banished to the surface of a post-apocalyptic Earth and tasked with repairing ships that hunt down the aliens who destroyed our planet. When a mysterious woman (Andrea Riseborough) crash-lands nearby, their encounter sets off an eye-opening chain of events. Deadline’s report doesn’t mention what role Leo will play, but she joins an impressive cast that also includes Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and Game of Thrones star Nickolaj Coster-Waldau.

Leo recently wrapped a role in Robert Zemeckis’ return to live-action, Flight. The drama stars Denzel Washington as an alcoholic and drug-addicted pilot who rises to fame after flying a damaged plane to safety. The actress is currently shooting the third and penultimate season of HBO’s Treme in New Orleans, which is also where filming on Oblivion just got underway. The sci-fi pic is slated to open on April 26th, 2013.

Director Joseph Kosinski’s (Tron: Legacy) sci-fi pic Oblivion will be arriving a few months earlier next year. Deadline reports that Universal has shifted the Tom Cruise-fronted Oblivion up to April 26th, 2013 from a previous release date of July 10th. There are currently no other film slated for that April weekend, but The Evil Dead remake opens a couple weeks earlier. No reason is given for the release date shift, but another Cruise film, One Shot, was recently moved up from early 2013 to December of this year.

In Oblivion, Cruise plays a veteran soldier who’s banished to the surface of a post-apocalyptic Earth and tasked with repairing ships that hunt down the aliens who destroyed our planet. When a mysterious woman (Andrea Riseborough) crash-lands nearby, their encounter sets off an eye-opening chain of events. The cast also includes Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko and Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Production on the film just began in Louisiana.

Director Joseph Kosinski’s (Tron: Legacy) upcoming sci-fi flick Oblivion (formerly titled Horizons) recently added Morgan Freeman to its increasingly impressive cast, and now Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is poised to co-star alongside Tom Cruise. Cruise plays a veteran soldier who’s banished to the surface of a post-apocalyptic Earth and tasked with repairing ships that hunt down the aliens who destroyed our planet. When a mysterious woman (Andrea Riseborough) crash-lands nearby, their encounter sets off an eye-opening chain of events. Olga Kurylenko also stars.

Deadline reports that Coster-Waldau will play “Sykes, a battle-hardened, physically imposing, intelligent and extremely athletic military technology and weapons expert.” The actor is best known for playing the sinister Jamie Lannister on HBO’s stellar series Game of Thrones. He’s incredibly effective on the HBO series, and I’m interested to see how he’ll fare as a decidedly less-evil character. He recently wrapped the Guillermo del Toro-produced horror film Mama alongside Jessica Chastain. Production on Oblivion begins in March in Louisiana.

Morgan Freeman has joined Tom Cruise, Andrea Riseborough, and Olga Kurylenko in Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi action flick Oblivion (formerly titled Horizons).  Cruise plays a veteran soldier who’s banished to the surface of a post-apocalyptic Earth and tasked with repairing ships that hunt down the aliens who destroyed our planet. When a mysterious woman (Riseborough) crash-lands nearby, their encounter sets off an eye-opening chain of events.  Deadline reports that Freeman’s role is currently unknown, but it’s a “critical part.”  I don’t have those details either, but I’m willing to wager it will be a dignified, intelligent character who is either a mentor and/or a nemesis.  Call it a hunch. [Update: Variety's Jeff Sneider tweets, "Morgan Freeman will play Malcolm Beech, the leader of the human resistance on Earth."]

Freeman will be seen in theaters later this summer reprising his role as Lucius Fox in The Dark Knight Rises.  He’s also co-starring in Louis Leterrier‘s magician heist flick Now You See Me.

The female leads in writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s Untitled Tom Cruise Project have changed almost as often as the film’s title (which has previously been referred to as Horizons and Oblivion). Last year we reported that a number of actresses were vying for two lead roles opposite Tom Cruise in the sci-fi pic. Then, it seemed as if Jessica Chastain (The Help) had landed one of them with the other role still being sorted out. Now it seems that Chastain has backed out in order to work on the Kathryn Bigelow picture about the death of Osama Bin Laden. That left the door open for Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace), who previously auditioned and relative newcomer to American cinema, Andrea Riseborough (Happy-Go-Lucky) to join Cruise.

The film, whatever its name is, revolves around Cruise who plays a veteran soldier banished to the surface of Earth which has been destroyed by an alien attack. When a mysterious woman crash-lands nearby, their encounter sets off an eye-opening chain of events. Hit the jump for more.

Back in August, we reported that a number of actresses were in the running to star in one of two lead female roles opposite Tom Cruise in Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi pic Horizons (the project has also been referred to as Oblivion, but every story seems to go back and forth on what the title is). Jessica Chastain eventually won the role, and since “shortlist” and “reading with” stories are all the rage, three actresses are now apparently poised to read for the other lead role with Cruise this weekend: Kate Beckinsale, Diane Kruger, and Captain America’s Hayley Atwell. Hit the jump for more.

Just last week we reported that a shortlist of actresses were set to test opposite Tom Cruise for his action flick One Shot. Now another set of leading ladies are poised to test opposite Cruise for a different project, Joseph Kosinski’s (Tron: Legacy) sci-fi film Horizons. Showblitz reports that Jessica Chastain, Olivia Wilde, Noomi Rapace, Brit Marling and Olga Kurylenko are the thesps vying that will vie the role this Saturday. Additionally, Universal has scrapped the title Oblivion and is now referring to the project by its former working title Horizons for the time being.

The story takes place in an apocalyptic future that finds humans living in clouds above the uninhabitable Earth, and Cruise plays a soldier relegated to staying on the planet to work on drones that seek out and destroy a savage alien life form. Hit the jump for more information on the contending actresses. 

Tom Cruise has committed to star in Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi flick Oblivion (also referred to as Horizons). Kosinski was originally going to make the film at Disney, until the Mouse House decided the PG-13 material didn’t fit with their model and dropped the film. They allowed the director to shop the project around, and it landed at Universal with a budget of $100 million. The script, originally written by William Monahan then rewritten by Karl Gajdusek, is based on an idea hatched by Kosinski himself.

The story takes place in an apocalyptic future where humans have been forced to live in clouds above the uninhabitable Earth below. Deadline reports that Cruise will play a soldier stuck on the planet, working on drones that patrol the surface searching out and destroying a “savage” alien life form. Naturally, he meets a woman who crash-lands and gets him thinking about his larger role in life. Production begins this October. The report also states that Cruise has also been mentioned in connection with Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. More after the jump.

Director Joseph Kosinski’s (Tron: Legacy) sci-fi actioner Horizons may have found a new home. After being released from Disney over fear of the PG-13 rating and subject matter, Heat Vision reports that Universal is now in negotiations to pick up the picture with Tom Cruise attached to star. The Mouse House felt that Horizons didn’t fit well with their brand, but graciously allowed Kosinski to shop the project around to other studios.

Based on an upcoming graphic novel from Radical Publishing, the story involves a soldier assigned to patrol a desolate planet who meets a mysterious traveler. Kosinski is producing alongside Barry Levine and Jeffrey Silver. Kosinski recently became the highest grossing first time director after Tron: Legacy surpassed the gross of J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible 3. An October production start-date on Horizons is now being eyed.

Disney has decided to let go of the sci-fi project Horizons (also known as Oblivion), which had Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) attached to direct. The Mouse House is allowing the director to shop the project around to other studios. Heat Vision reports that Disney was uncomfortable with the reported $150 million price tag for the flick, but have such a good rapport with Kosinski that they’re letting him take the project around town.

The film has a script from William Monahan (The Departed), but it was recently reported that Karl Gajdusek (Dead Like Me) would be performing a re-write. It’s unknown if that re-write still stands, as the project is now looking for a new home. However, apparently Warner Bros., Fox and Mandate Pictures are all interested in the film, so it won’t be without a studio for long. Tom Cruise is also very interested in the project, so that shouldn’t hurt either. Based on an upcoming graphic novel from Radical Publishing, the re-worked story involves a soldier assigned to patrol a desolate planet who meets a mysterious traveler.

Oblivion, Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to TRON: Legacy, is getting a new title and a new draft.  Heat Vision reports that the sci-fi action film will now be titled “Horizons“, which makes the movie sound less like the popular Elder Scrolls sequel and more like an out-patient drug rehab facility. In addition to the title change, Karl Gajdusek has been brought in to re-write the script.  When we previously reported on this movie, the plot was based on Radical Publishing’s upcoming graphic novel that was “set on a future Earth, where civilization lives above the clouds and scavengers collect ancient artifacts from the polluted surface below. When one young scavenger finds a crashed spacecraft planetside, it lead him on a journey filled with romance and adventure.”  However, the story now seems to be about “a soldier assigned to patrol a desolate planet who meets a mysterious traveler.”

Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) wrote the previous draft, but it’s unknown how much of his story they’ll keep since the story being reported now  sounds drastically different from the original logline.  For those unfamiliar with Gajdusek, he worked on the TV series Dead Like Me and penned the upcoming Joel Schmuacher thriller Trespass starring Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman.