Cruise will play a solider tasked with repairing drones on the irradiated surface of Earth in a future where the last humans live safely in floating cities above the clouds.  One day, while he's avoiding malevolent aliens, the soldiier stumbles upon a beautiful woman who crash landed, and together they strike off on a journey with huge implications for the future society.  The screenplay is written by William Monahan and Karl Gajdusek  from a comic book that Kosinski co-wrote.

There's some confusion as to the title.  The comic was called 'Oblivion', but the film was reportedly retitled Horizons while still at Disney.  The Deadline article makes no mention of Horizons, though, so perhaps the original moniker has returned with the change in studios.

The project was in the design stage at Disney, but the studio grew increasingly concerned that a PG-13 action film did not suit their brand, particularly given the expense involved.  After Disney amicably let go of Horizons/Oblivion, Universal won the rights, after having initially been Disney's biggest competitor for the comic book property.

With Cruise aboard, the studio is aiming for an October production start for Horizons, at a $100 million budget.  Cruise is currently at work on Rock of Ages, the cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical.  After that, he'll move on to Kosinski's sci-fi epic.  There's also talk of him potentially playing a role in Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim, after their At the Mountains of Madness failed to get the green light at Universal.