We Are Mortals, the newly titled film adaptation of All You Need is Kill, is ready to start collecting names for a cast.
First the studio need to find a star, someone to tie the rest of the casting together, and it looks it has their sights set on Tom Cruise, though the actor has not yet accepted the part.
All You Need is Kill is a popular Japanese novel, which was nominated for several awards. It represents the breakthrough in the career of Hiroshi Sakurazaka, though the story is mostly derivative.
The tale is sort of a cross between Starship Troopers and Groundhog Day – neither of which are highly original themselves.
A young man named Keiji joins the United Defense Force to combat an extraterrestrial threat called the Mimics. In his very first encounter, Keiji is killed and wakes up on the morning before the battle.
Each day he tries again to survive the battle, learning and, evolving as a highly-trained soldier with each run-through, hoping that, eventually, he can get good enough to survive.
Of course, if Tom Cruise did take the part, the main character’s nationality would likely need to be changed, but unlike with some stories, such an alteration would not have a big effect on the verisimilitude.
The adaptation has been written by up-and-coming adaptation writer Dante Harper, who is also working on a Timothy McVeigh biopic called Dreamland, which is in production, an adaptation of Asimov’s Foundation, an action adaptation of Hansel & Gretel, and Paramount’s Black Hole.
No production or release dates have yet been announced for We are Mortals.
