Tom Cruise's 'Edge of Tomorrow': Everything You Need To Know

Tom Cruise is back in sci-fi action epic ‘Edge of Tomorrow’, where he’s doomed to die, die and die again, as a solider who gets caught in a time loop fighting an alien race. The battle commences in June but the latest trailer has just been released, so are you ready for what some are calling ‘Starship Troopers’ meets ‘Groundhog Day’?

Tom Cruise in 'Edge of Tomorrow'

Far from being a Hollywood invention, ’Edge of Tomorrow’ is actually adapted from the Japanese light novel ‘All You Need Is Kill ‘ by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. ‘Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters’ writer Dante W. Harper first adapted it into a script in 2010 and the rights to it were quickly bought up by Warner Bros for the handsome sum of $3 million. From its very early days Doug Liman, the man behind the camera for the ‘Bourne Identity’ and ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ was on board to direct and the first lead actor being looked at was Brad Pitt. Originally it still had the ‘All You Need Is Kill’ title from the original novel, but another name, ‘We Are Mortals’ was being talked about before ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ was settled on.

When Brad Pitt left the running it was Tom Cruise who eventually landed the part. With Cruise, who was 49 at the time, signing on, Harper’s script needed a rewrite to suit him better. Joby Harold, who wrote and directed the much derided 2007 Hayden Christensen vehicle ‘Awake’ was the first man given the task of rewriting the script. The cast also started to take shape with British actress Emily Blunt being added and experienced alien fighter Bill Paxton getting added to the mix. Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were working on the ‘Mummy’ and ‘Van Helsing’ reboots were the next pair said to be giving the script a look over with future ‘Mission Impossible 5’ director Christopher McQuarrie called in for a rewrite before production began. Filming then started in Fall 2012.

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in 'Edge of Tomorrow'

Much of the details of ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ seemed to be being kept under wraps until Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton made an appearance at last year’s Comic-con convention. Cruise took the opportunity to describe his character saying it was different that his usual on screen hero role. Indeed William Cage is actually a bit of a pretty boy coward who’s more used to rallying the troops than fighting, that is until he gets caught up in the alien time loop. Cruise also let out that as expected they’ll be an unusual narrative structure due to the time loop. Paxton also added that the movie does contain more comedy than you’d think, especially due to Cruise’s cumbersome looking exo-suit that he wears frequently in the film.

Next: watch the 'Edge of Tomorrow' trailer