I'm starting to wonder if Tom Cruise has some life goal to be either running away from something or chasing something or just plain wrongly accused in every movie he does for the rest of his life. Because his upcoming project, Edwin A. Salt, sounds like such a typical Cruise role-- a CIA agent eludes capture after being accused of spying for the Russians-- that no one else seems capable of playing it. That Tom Cruise! He eludes capture better than all the rest!

Now Edwin A. Salt is one step closer to getting made, with Variety reporting that Philip Noyce has signed on to direct the thriller. Noyce knows a thing or two about espionage as it is, having directed both Patriot Games and A Clear and Present Danger back in the early 90s. Is Edwin A. Salt as badass as Jack Ryan? I guess Noyce is the litmus test.

I really liked Noyce's most recent feature, 2006's Catch a Fire, and was disappointed to see him drop out of the Amelia Earhart biopic that Mira Nair is currently directing. While Tom Cruise still seems to be more of a liability these days than an asset-- see the constant release date changes for Valkyrie-- Noyce seems as likely as any director to keep Cruise from jumping on the couch and turn him back into the movie star we actually like.

Edwin A. Salt is in production with Columbia Pictures, but doesn't yet have a release date.