THR's Heat Vision reports that Universal is in negotiations to acquire the film, with Tom Cruise set to star.  Cruise has been eying the film as a potential starring vehicle since it became a notable property last summer, even attending the premiere of the Tron sequel in December.  Apparently, Universal faced competition from Warner Bros, Paramount, and Fox, all of whom were quite interested in financing the film.  Universal and Paramount were Disney's principal rivals for the project last year.

The science fiction adventure was in the early design phase of preproduction at Disney when the studio, concerned over the estimated budget, reportedly decided that a PG-13 sci-fi action film was not their style, particularly at such a steep price. 

Universal is tentatively looking at an October production start for Horizons.  Naturally, this is going to cause some folks to wonder about the much-discussed potential Tron: Legacy follow-up that Disney so clearly had in mind.  Hard to say, as I don't now if Disney suddenly giving a green light to another Tron would trump Horizons, or if they would save the director's chair for Mr. Kosinski.  Or Disney has put to rest its dream of a revived Tron franchise.W

The Horizons screenplay was written by Karl Gadjusek and William Monahan, from a comic book created by Joseph Kosinski and Andree Wallin.  If all goes according to plan, Tom Cruise will play a low-level soldier who repairs military equipment on Earth's irradiated, post-apocalyptic surface, while the rest of humanity is living the high life in cloud cities.  One day, a ship crash lands, and he discovers a beautiful woman inside.  Naturally, action and Earth-shaking revelations ensue.