Hot on the heels of the news that Tom Cruise has officially signed on to return in Mission: Impossible 5, a new report has writer-director Christopher McQuarrie attached to a remake of the 1968 thriller Ice Station Zebra.  This project will obviously impact the decision of who will direct M:I5 as McQuarrie is in talks to helm the follow-up to Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.  No timetable is in place for either film yet so it's feasible that McQuarrie would be able to line up both pictures.  However, McQuarrie will not only direct the Ice Station Zebra remake - a story about an American sub racing against the Russians in order to make it to a secret base in the Arctic circle - but will also pen the adaptation, based on the Alistair MacLean novel.  It's too soon to tell how this will all shake out.  Hit the jump for more.

Heat Vision reports that McQuarrie will write and direct the remake of Ice Station Zebra.  The original starred Rock Hudson as sub Commander James Ferraday, along with Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan and Jim Brown in supporting roles.  The sub crew is tasked with taking an international cast of characters to the Arctic weather station in order to rescue the crew stationed there.  Over the course of the film, the sailors soon realize that their mission is not exactly what it seems and that there is a traitor on board who will stop at nothing to prevent them from beating the Russians to their objective.

There is no word as to whether or not this is the case, but I wouldn't mind seeing Cruise in Hudson's role in the remake.  The actor and director have worked well together in Jack Reacher and will possibly reunite for M:I5, so I wouldn't be too surprised to see them collaborate on this particular film.  To my knowledge, Cruise has yet to appear in a submarine movie so this could be his big chance!

Check out the trailer for the original Ice Station Zebra below: