Tom Cruise has finally signed on to star in OBLIVION from TRON: LEGACY director Joseph Kosinski. The sci-fi flick (Cruise’s first since WAR OF THE WORLDS) tells the tale of a future ravaged by an alien war, which resulted in mankind’s exodus from the Earth’s now uninhabitable surface to live above the clouds.

Cruise will portray a lone soldier who is tasked with the unenviable job of repairing our Earth-bound Battle Drones that sweep our planet for hostile alien life forms. It is on one such mission that he encounters a mysterious woman who has crash-landed… and presumably go off on an adventure of some kind.

Anyone else getting a WALL-E vibe?

Kosinski’s been championing this project for a loooong time – having come up with the original idea (debatable) in 2005, he adapted it into a Graphic Novel after failing to garner studio interest, which in an ironic turn was then itself picked up by Disney last year. It has since been delayed further while the studio struggled with the dark tone of the story during development. But with Cruise now on board and a $100 million budget at stake, expect them to have found a way to balance the more challenging story elements to deliver the essential family-friendly PG-13 rating.

Writer William Monaghan (THE DEPARTED) has penned the new draft based of Kosinski’s original screenplay, and the movie is set to finally go before cameras this October.

Why would living in the clouds protect us from aliens from outer space? Wouldn’t we stand out a bit? Am I missing something? Let us know with your comments below!