EXCLUSIVE: With a $61 million opening weekend overseas on Universal Pictures’ Oblivion, who could blame Tom Cruise for wanting to stay in science fiction mode? He’s just made a deal to become attached to star in Yukikaze, a big-scale film based on a series of Japanese sci-fi novels by Chohei Kambayashi. Warner Bros acquired the novel series and will finance and distribute. The author has been called Japan’s answer to Isaac Asimov, and the film will be produced by 3 Arts’ Erwin Stoff and Tom Lassally, who developed and produced the sci-fi film All You Need Is Kill that Cruise starred in for Warner Bros and director Doug Liman. Viz Media’s Jason Hoffs will also be producing.

Yukikaze unfolds in the early 21st Century, three decades after the alien force JAM invaded earth through a dimensional porthole that appeared over Antarctica. While humans beat back the attack, they form a special combat force to eradicate the alien threat on its home planet.

This gets added to several other projects for Cruise. He’s working with Christopher McQuarrie on another installment of Mission: Impossible, as well as a second installment of the Lee Child novel series based on Jack Reacher that’s also being done with McQuarrie for Paramount and Skydance. In addition, he’s in talks to star for director Guy Ritchie in a Warner Bros film based on the classic TV series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. He’s repped by CAA.

Universal opens Oblivion in the U.S. this Friday.