The Hollywood Reporter has an interesting piece on Tom Cruise, attempting to prove that he’s once again viable as a ground-moving A-list star. It’s an interesting opinion editorial that leaves out the larger points that 1) even when Cruise bombs, the movie usually makes over $200m and 2) it’s the entire idea of commercially block busting actors that’s diminishing. However, one thing that’s for sure is that Cruise himself isn’t. He’s got a few projects in the hopper, and at least one is a return to the world of science fiction. According to THR, there may be a second – the Doug Liman project We Mortals Are (which used to be called All You Need Is Kill and is still missing a predicate). The story focuses on a space soldier who, through science-y fiction, keeps living to fight on the day before he dies. After 158 wonderful deaths, he sees something different – a female entity known as The Bitch of War. It’s based off of the Hiroshi Sakurazaka manga, and, as it turns out, there’s something appropriate about placing Cruise in a movie about death and rebirth.

Afro Samurai started off as a manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Okazaki. After garnering some fame and acclaim it then became an animated mini-series back in 2007. Then, in 2009, they made an Afro Samurai made-for-TV movie called Afro Samurai: Resurrection that was so well received it scooped up a couple of Emmys. Not bad for a little cartoon about a guy with an Afro avenging his father’s murder. In it’s cartoon form, the lead character of Afro Samurai has been voiced by blustery badass Samuel L. Jackson, and now a press release has come out stating that Jackson and the newly formed distribution house The Indomina Group will be bringing the adventures of the big-haired one to the big screen, and in live action to boot. Jackson said of the venture, “This has been one of my very favorite properties ever since our amazing debut at Comic Con with the original series pilot out of Japan. I can’t wait to produce the epic feature film version with our new partners at The Indomina Group.”

For a while we’ve thought that Akira was dead, but now his friends are resurrecting him and taking him in blob form into production starting in 2010.