Doug Liman has lined up an intriguing project at Warner Brothers for his next directorial effort, entitled All You Need Is Kill. Based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s 2004 sci-fi/action book, All You Need Is Kill features a screenplay written by Dante Harper (which sold for seven figures) that is described as Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers. The film will focus on a future war between humans and aliens called the Gatai. The main character, Keiji Kiriya, a young recruit, dies on the first day of battle, but reawakens the next morning, alive, as if nothing had happened. It’s revealed that Keiji is caught in a time loop, where he returns to the same day over and over. He learns from his mistakes, living longer each in each battle experience. Eventually Keiji meets an experienced, female soldier who may (or may not) hold the key to his escaping the time loop. Pretty high-concept stuff, huh?

This film seems like a nice alternative to the proposed Three Musketeers project that Liman was attached to direct. Although some of his most recent work hasn’t been the most impressive (Jumper), I’m looking forward to this, if only to see what’s done with the story and visuals. There’s no word yet on casting or a shooting schedule, but those details should come soon enough. Considering the plot synopsis, this should be an expensive film to produce and will probably be high on Warner Bros. list of potential blockbuster releases.