Tom Cruise Drops Out of Western Movie Remake 'Magnificent Seven'

While the 'Mission: Impossible' star leaves, 'Saving Mr. Banks' director John Lee Hancock is brought in to rewrite the script.

Tom Cruise is no longer involved in "The Magnificent Seven", a remake of John Sturges' classic western movie. The "Oblivion" star was first attached to the project in 2012 and was supposed to play one of the cowboys. He has just completed "Edge of Tomorrow" and is now preparing for "Mission: Impossible V" and "Go Like Hell".

Despite Cruise's departure, "Magnificent Seven" is still on track. "Saving Mr. Banks" director John Lee Hancock has been tapped to rewrite the script originally drafted by Nic Pizzolatto who wrote HBO's upcoming miniseries "True Detective" starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.

Based on Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic "Seven Samurai", "The Magnificent Seven" follows a gang of American gunmen hired to protect a small Mexican town from a group of bandits led by Calvera. The original released in 1960 starred Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, Brad Dexter and Horst Buchholz.

The film spawned three sequels and was turned into a TV adaptation for CBS series in 1998-2000.