Claim: Tom Cruise plays William Cage in Edge of Tomorrow.

Edge of Tomorrow -LRB- alternatively known by its tagline Live . Die . Repeat . and marketed as such on home release -RRB- is a 2014 American military science fiction film starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt . Doug Liman directed the film based on a screenplay adapted from the 2004 Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka .   The film begins with a flashback to the year 2015 , when a horde of aliens called the Mimics arrived in Germany on a meteorite . By the year 2020 , in which the film 's action takes place , the horde has spread over most of continental Europe and killed all humans in its way . Cruise plays William Cage , a public relations officer with no combat experience , who is ordered by his superior to film the first wave of a crucial landing operation against the aliens . Upon being killed in combat , Cage finds himself in a time loop that sends him back to the day preceding the battle every time he dies . Cage teams up with Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski -LRB- Blunt -RRB- in seeking a way to defeat the extraterrestrials .   In late 2009 , Productions purchased the rights to the novel and sold a spec script to the American studio Warner Bros. . The studio produced the film with the involvement of , the novel 's publisher Viz Media , and Australian production company Village Roadshow . Filming began in late 2012 , taking place in England at Leavesden Studios outside London , and other locations such as Trafalgar Square and Saunton Sands . Nine companies handled the visual effects .   The film was released in cinemas on the weekend of , 2014 in 28 territories , including the United Kingdom , Brazil , Germany , Spain , and Indonesia . On the weekend of , 2014 it was released in 36 additional territories , including North America -LRB- United States and Canada -RRB- , Australia , China , and Russia . The film grossed over in theaters worldwide and received positive reviews from critics .   A sequel , titled Live Die Repeat and Repeat , is currently in development .