*Updated: Christopher McQuarrie has announced on Twitter that he is not set to direct the sequel, and that Doug Liman will return to helm the follow-up to Edge of Tomorrow.* The Tom Cruise-starring Edge of Tomorrow was a pleasant surprise for sci-fi fans in the summer of 2014, and those looking forward to the in-the-works sequel will be happy to hear that two writers have been set to pen the follow-up film's screenplay.
Deadline reports that Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse have been hired to write the Edge of Tomorrow sequel for Warner Bros. Shrapnel and Waterhouse previously co-wrote the screenplay for Race, the inspirational movie based on Olympic runner Jesse Owens' life.
Directed by Doug Liman, the first film focused on a future war between Earth's residents and invading aliens known as Mimics. Cruise's character, William Cage, had the ability to anticipate what was coming next, as he seemingly re-spawned every time he died on (or off) the battlefield. Cage eventually teamed up with Sergeant Rita Rose Vrataski (Emily Blunt) in the battle for Earth's survival.
Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation), who helped work on the first film's screenplay (based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka's book All You Need is Kill) and will be a part of the sequel to some extent, revealed on Twitter that Liman is set to direct the follow-up to Edge of Tomorrow, clearing up speculations that McQuarrie would be the one to helm the project:
Correction: I am NOT directing The sequel to Edge of Tomorrow. Doug Liman is. I will be involved but there's no Edge without Doug.
— ChristopherMcQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) April 8, 2016
Cruise has expressed interest in reprising his role as Cage and would also like to see Blunt return as well. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more details, and for those who are unfamiliar, we have Edge of Tomorrow's synopsis and trailer:
"Lt. Col. Bill Cage (Cruise) is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously dropped into what amounts to a suicide mission. Killed within minutes, Cage now finds himself inexplicably thrown into a time loop—forcing him to live out the same brutal combat over and over, fighting and dying again…and again.
But with each battle, Cage becomes able to engage the adversaries with increasing skill, alongside Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Blunt). And, as Cage and Rita take the fight to the aliens, each repeated encounter gets them one step closer to defeating the enemy.”