Disney Drops Joseph Kosinski's 'Horizons,' Formerly Called 'Oblivion'

The last time we heard about Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski's film project Oblivion, it was retitled Horizons and was getting a rewrite from Karl Gajdusek, who wrote the Nicolas Cage/Nicole Kidman film Trespass. He stepped in to work on the draft after William Monahan was hired to pen a script based on the graphic novel created by Joseph Kosinski and written by Rex Mundi and illustrated by Andree Wallin.

But now the project is dead at Disney, and may be made elsewhere. What does this mean for the director and Disney?

Variety says that Oblivion has been put into turnaround — Mr. Kosinski and Radical Publishing can take it to other studios/producers at this point. (And, yes, the trade uses 'Oblivion' rather than the previously reported newer title, 'Horizons.') This comes as a bit of surprise since THR, which ran the last update, said at the time the project was a high priority at Disney.

So what happened? There is no indication. Is the film, which sounds like it could be a relatively dark bit of sci-fi, simply not the sort of bright, theme park-friendly fare that Disney wants to make right now? Have enough numbers really come in from Tron Legacy that the project now seems like a bad idea? Was Disney developing it for the sake of keeping their Tron director happy until that film was received with less than shattering excitement? Meanwhile, what of The Black Hole, which Joseph Kosinski is also set to direct for Disney? We don't know yet, but we haven't heard anything about The Black Hole in a while. Is his relationship with the studio pretty much done?

(UPDATE: THR says that the Kosinski/Disney relationship is strong and that budget concerns are at the root of this decision. Warners, Fox, Universal and Paramount are said to be possible homes for the project, and that Disney putting it in turnaround, instead of burying it, is indicative of the fact that the studio's relationship with the director remains strong.)

The graphic novel version of Oblivion will be published later this year, and we could still see the film version get a new home. Here's the synopsis of the GN:

From Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and critically acclaimed creator Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi) comes an original sci-fi adventure of epic proportions. In a future where the Earth's surface has been irradiated beyond recognition, the remnants of humanity live above the clouds, safe from the brutal alien Scavengers that stalk the ruins. But when surface drone repairman Jak discovers a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod, it sets off an unstoppable chain of events that will force him to question everything he knows.