Hugh Laurie dices with villain role in Tomorrowland

Hugh Laurie is in talks to play the villain opposite George Clooney in the high-profile science-fiction film Tomorrowland, which has Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof on board as director and co-writer respectively.

Described as a paean to Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the 1978 film in which a man goes in search of aliens who are visiting Earth, further details about the movie are being kept locked away by studio Disney. Clooney will take the lead, while Laurie's character is said to be the story's main antagonist. Until recently, the film was titled 1952, perhaps offering a clue to its setting.

Bird graduated from animated fare such as Pixar's The Incredibles to directing the critically acclaimed, box office-smash action film Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in 2011. Laurie is best known in the US for his eight-year stint on the TV show House, which recently came to an end.

Lindelof, who wrote last year's Ridley Scott sci-fi romp Prometheus, is also the co-creator of Lost. He has written the forthcoming sci-fi sequel Star Trek into Darkness.

Tomorrowland, whose name appears to be inspired by the futuristic Disneyland zone that has been part of the theme park since 1955, is due in cinemas for 2014. Lindelof co-wrote the screenplay with Jeff Jensen, an editor at the US magazine Entertainment Weekly.