Christopher McQuarrie, who directed Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher and is also working on Mission: Impossible 5, has reportedly signed on to direct Star Blazers, a film adaptation of the 1970s Japanese anime series.
Deadline reported first that McQuarrie has been signed by Skydance Productions, which has had the rights to the series since 2011. At that time, McQuarrie was hired only to write the project, but nothing had been heard on it until today.
McQuarrie, Josh C. Kline, David Ellison and Dana Goldberg are producing the film, with Shouji Nizhizaki and Paul Schwake as executive producers.
According to Indiewire, the original name of the series was Space Battleship Yamato. Star Blazers was the name of the American dubbed version.
It centers on the survivors of a battle on Earth that has wiped out the human race. They leave the planet and travel across the universe to keep the human race alive.
McQuarrie certainly has a full plate ahead of him, with M:I 5 in the works with Cruise and he was hired for a remake of Ice Station Zebra. He’s also working on a miniseries called Unforgiven.
As for Skydance, this is the latest big project for them, as the studio has worked with Paramount on Star Trek Into Darkness and World War Z. They will reteam again for the Terminator reboot.
image: Amazon