Cruise and Noyce Team for Salt

Phillip Noyce (Bone Collector, The Quiet American) is in negotiations to direct Edwin A. Salt, the Kurt Wimmer-scripted drama that Columbia Pictures has been developing as a starring vehicle for Tom Cruise, reports Variety.

The drama would see Cruise as a CIA officer who’s accused by a defector of being a Russian sleeper spy. He must elude capture long enough to clear his name. The Australian helmer and Cruise had been mentioned as possible participants in the Warner Bros. drama The 28th Amendment, but recently their focus shifted to Salt.

The film would mark a return to the world of espionage and action for Noyce, who tackled the subject in the Jack Ryan films Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger.

Edwin A. Salt has been in development for sometime, with screenwriter Wimmer completing drafts for directors Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) and Peter Berg (Hancock, The Kingdom).

The film still doesn’t have a firm start date.