Filming is now under way on long-gestating sci-fi project Oblivion (assuming that’s what it ends up being called), with Tom Cruise starring and Tron Legacy’s Joseph Kosinski directing. The movie has added one more solid name to the cast, with Melissa Leo signing on.
Oblivion apparently takes place in an apocalyptic future with the Earth largely in ruins and the vast majority of the population living above it in huge cities. Our planet is constantly under threat from nasty alien types, and there are a series of drones in place to protect the place. Cruise is playing a man stationed on the harsh world whose job it is to repair the drones, and his one main link to the civilization above is his communication partner / lover, played by Olga Kurylenko.
She’s somewhat disturbed when a woman (Andrea Riseborough) mysteriously crash-lands on Earth, causing Cruise to start questioning everything he thinks he knows.
Leo’s role hasn’t been revealed yet, but she’s joining a cast that also includes Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Lindsay Clift. Universal is set to release the film on April 19, 2013.
Last seen in Kevin Smith’s Red State, Leo is currently at work filming the third season of HBO’s New Orleans-set drama Treme.