Doug Liman is set to direct Tom Cruise in his outer space-shot movie.

Doug Liman

Doug Liman

The 54-year-old filmmaker and Tom have planned the project - which also involves Elon Musk's Space X and NASA - together, and the director has already written a first draft for the action-adventure film, Deadline reports.

Doug and Tom have collaborated previously on 'Edge of Tomorrow' and 'American Made'. Doug's other directing credits include 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' and 'The Bourne Identity'.

The duo had also been working on other projects before the coronavirus outbreak shutdown the film industry.

Doug has helmed 'Chaos Walking', which is in post-production, and Tom has been working on the next two instalments of the 'Mission: Impossible' series, although production is currently suspended due to the global health crisis.

As a result, 'Mission: Impossible 7's release date has been pushed back until November 2021.

The new movie - which will once again see Tom star as Ethan Hunt - was originally set for release in July 2021.

But, due to the impact of the pandemic, its release date has now been shifted to November 19.

Likewise, the eighth instalment of the series has also seen its release delayed, with the original release of August 2022 being moved to November 4.

The upcoming movie - which also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Nicholas Hoult, and Hayley Atwell, and is to be directed by Christopher McQuarrie - suspended filming in Venice when coronavirus started to spread across Italy.

A Paramount spokesperson said at the time "Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for 'Mission: Impossible 7'.

"During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts.

"We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves."