Hope remains for Edge of Tomorrow 2 to become an actual movie that happens, rather than a long-hoped-for sequel that never materializes. Director Doug Liman’s 2014 sci-fi actioner didn’t explode at the box office, but it earned high critical praise and grew its legion of fans once it hit home video, offering up a smart and refreshingly unique blockbuster that stood in direct contrast to the plainness of other big-budget fare. Liman, stars Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and writer Christopher McQuarrie all expressed interest and desire to make a sequel, and while it’s been in development for a few years, Liman says Edge of Tomorrow 2 may finally be close to happening.

Collider’s own Christina Radish caught up with Liman at the TCA’s, where the filmmaker was promoting his upcoming YouTube series Impulse, and Liman revealed that scheduling issues for Edge of Tomorrow 2 have already been worked out—right now it’s all about the script:

“We’re just working on the script… [We’re no longer working on scheduling issues], now it’s down to we have a window where we could go do it, and we’re frantically working on the script. It’s one of those movies that we’ll only go make if we love the script. It’s not one of those things where the studio is pushing us to make it and they don’t really care if it’s good or not. If the movie happens, it will be because Emily Blunt, Tom Cruise and myself are passionate about making it, which is a great place to be. She doesn’t need this movie, he doesn’t need this movie, and I don’t need it. We’re gonna make it if we really believe in it. We have story that the three of us love, so we’re working hard on the script.”

McQuarrie, who did extensive work on the script for Edge of Tomorrow, came up with the idea for the sequel while writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse penned the actual screenplay for the follow-up (McQuarrie’s been busy writing and directing Mission: Impossible 6 for the last year and a half). Liman said last October that scheduling was the biggest hurdle, so now it appears everyone involved has found an optimal window to shoot the movie, it just depends on ensuring they have a script worth shooting:

So how soon is that window? Is Edge of Tomorrow 2 Liman’s next film?

“It could be. It has the possibility of being my next film.”

Liman just entered post-production on the sci-fi YA adaptation Chaos Walking, starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, and while he doesn’t confirm when the window to shoot Edge of Tomorrow 2 would be, it seems feasible it could be in front of cameras at the end of this year or sometime in the first or second quarter of 2019.

Chaos Walking has a 2019 release date, so that would give Liman the bulk of this year to finish that up. Blunt most recently wrapped the thriller A Quiet Place and doesn’t have any impending shoots on her schedule (at least officially) for 2018, and Cruise is due to shoot Top Gun: Maverick at some point this year and potentially film Quentin Tarantino’s new movie this summer if he decides to sign on to that project.

Again nothing’s confirmed for when Edge of Tomorrow 2 filming might begin, but the window of availability for Cruise, Blunt, and Liman would appear to be at the tail end of this year or the first half of 2019. Edge of Tomorrow was a delightful surprise and one of Liman’s best films, so it would similarly be a joy to see everyone return for a follow-up. And while the premise of the sequel is under wraps, it’s been teased as “a sequel that’s a prequel,” thus ensuring this is one franchise that won’t be going down a traditional route.