Man, Tom Cruise sure loves his sci-fi. Between “Minority Report” and “War Of The Worlds” with Steven Spielberg, this weekend’s “Oblivion” and next year’s “All You Need Is Kill,” you would think that the actor would have had his fill of futuristic worlds. You would be wrong, and he’s lining up yet another sci-fi spectacle that sounds like “Top Gun” in outer space.
Warner Bros. and the producers behind “All You Need Is Kill,” have tapped Cruise to star in “Yukikaze,” an adaptation of the novel series by Chōhei Kambayashi. In the movie, Cruise probably plays the lead Lieutenant Rei Fukai, a member of the Fairy Air Force (yes, FAF for short…) who are tasked with keeping the alien force known as JAM from invading Earth, by fighting them over Antarctica. So, something like a cross between “Top Gun” and “Pacific Rim“? Sorta? We’d have to imagine strapping into a jet is part of the allure for Cruise as “Top Gun 2” likely won’t happen with the passing of Tony Scott.
The series has already been adapted into a five episode anime, which you can watch in its entirety with an English dub track below, to get a sense of what this is all about. And with “Oblivion” opening to $61 million already internationally, any worries about Cruise’s bankability seem to have been alleviated. It’s yet another saves-the-day flick for the actor, but remember when he would randomly do stuff like Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “Magnolia“? When is that Tom Cruise gonna come back?
“Yukikaze” is just one of many projects Cruise is looking at (including Guy Ritchie‘s “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.“) so we’ll see how it pans out, and most importantly, who may direct. [Deadline]
Funny you mention Magnolia. I just did a project on it for my class and I wondered the same thing. Where is that Tom Cruise that took on genuinely challenging roles? His performance as Frank T.J. Mackey was really amazing. The character, while entertaining, is quite despicable and misogynistic. I wished he'd go back to stuff like that instead of rehashing the same performance but in different contexts, like he's been doing in recent years.
Tom in the Fairy Air Force. hahahaha laughs for days.