Warner Bros. sci-fier from director Doug Liman

After a long flirtation with Emily Blunt, Warner Bros. is in talks to pair the actress with Tom Cruise in Doug Liman’s sci-fier “All You Need Is Kill.”

Based on the graphic novel, the original story is in the vein of “Groundhog Day,” with a twist: A soldier in a war against aliens finds himself reliving his last day over and over after being killed. Through the training and battles he experiences in these time loops, he becomes a better soldier. Blunt plays another soldier who fights alongside Cruise.

Erwin Stoff, Tom Lassally and Jason Hoffs are producing through 3 Arts Entertainment. Dante Harper penned the script with Joby Harold, who’s doing a rewrite and serving as exec producer.

Last fall, the studio liked Blunt as the femme lead in “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,” but the studio halted that project when it couldn’t lock a male to topline and helmer Steven Soderbergh fell out. Blunt is also one of a handful of women meeting with helmer Rob Marshall for the female lead in “The Thin Man” opposite Johnny Depp; sources tell Variety that the director and studio view her as one of their top contenders for the part along with Emma Stone and Kristen Wiig.

Studio is seeking an actress with strong comedy chops, and insiders say that Blunt’s perf in Universal’s “Five Year Engagement,” which bows April 27, has the studio believing she can carry off that type of role.

Besides “Five Year Engagement,” Blunt, repped by CAA and Ken McReddie Associates, can also be seen later this year in the sci-fi actioner “Looper” alongside Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis.

Source: Variety