Jessica Chastain to join Joseph Kosinski/Tom Cruise sci-fi pic

At one point it lookes as if Joseph Kosinki's follow-up to Tron Legacy, a sci-fi flick formerly titled Oblivion(also known as Horizons), was never going to get off the ground. Despite a script by the great William Monahan(The Departed) and a superstar lead in Tom Cruise, Disney turned their back on the project. In a strange twist, the recently cost conscious Universal swooped in and picked it up, and things have been moving steadily along ever since. The film centers on a future earth where the surface has been destroyed by aliens, with Cruise playing a soldier stationed there who discovers a mysterious a woman that forces him to question everything he knows.

Last month we learned that a handful of contenders were in place for the two female lead roles. One as Cruise's wife, likely seen in flashback. The other as the mysterious woman. Brit Marling(Another Earth), Olivia Wilde(everything basically), Jessica Chastain(The Tree of Life), Olga Kurylenko(Quantum of Solace), and Noomi Rapace(Prometheus) were in the running. In a surprise move, the job appears to have gone to Chastain, who has entered negotiations for one of the roles. It's currently unclear which, although to me it seems like the wife role would be a perfect fit, allowing for her to be the virtuous presence she was in The Tree of Life. 

So that leaves one role left to fill, and it's likely the rest of the actresses are still in line for it. Last month I identified Kurylenko as a likely choice for the mystery role, and I continue to agree with myself on that.

Oblivion, Horizons, or whatever Universal is calling this flick is set to hit theaters on July 19th 2013. [Variety]