*UPDATE* George Clooney joins Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof's '1952'

*UPDATE* THR is now saying 1952 is working under the title of 'Tesla'. Presumably this would be Nikola Tesla, the famous inventor and physicist who had more than a passing interest in the extraterrestrial. *

How exciting must it be to work at Disney right now? Think about it. They just picked up LucasFilm and the Star Wars franchise; they've already got Marvel and the vaunted Avengers; and let's not forget The Muppets, Pixar, and everything else the Mouse House has specialized in for decades. Incredible. Now one of their most top secret of projects has just taken a big step forward with the addition of Hollywood's biggest star: George Clooney.

Variety reports that Clooney is in talks to star in 1952, the sci-fi film from Brad Bird(Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol) and writer Damon Lindelof(Prometheus). Details are being kept heavily guarded for now, but we know the idea springs from an idea Lindelof came up with after a visit to Walt Disney's personal archives where he found a box labeled '1952' and included story notes for a film about alien contact. I've speculated that it has to do with NASA's rocket missions during that year, which also happens to be one of the most active times for UFO sightings in this country's history. So expect something along the lines of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The film is not officially green lit, but with Clooney reportedly on board that's expected to change very quickly. Filming begins next year, probably after the actor wraps up work on the historical heist film, The Monuments Men.