Following his break from The Weinstein Co. in the wake of numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations regarding co-founder Harvey Weinstein, Quentin Tarantino is in the market for a new film distributor. As his next film comes together, an intense bidding war has broken out among the major studios; three have emerged as the top contenders for the project, which is set in 1969 and revolves (at least in part) around the Manson family murders. In addition to eyeing Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie for key roles, a new report reveals that Tarantino has also set his sights on…Tom Cruise.

Cruise headlining a Tarantino film would be kind of amazing, and the actor is certainly overdue for a prestige project — particularly after the box office failure of The Mummy and the implosion of Universal’s Dark Universe plans. According to Deadline, Tarantino has Tom Cruise in mind for one of two lead male roles in his new film, along with a pair of actors who have worked with the director before: Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained).

Tarantino has apparently written roles specifically for Pitt and DiCaprio, and, as previously reported, is eyeing Margot Robbie for the role of Sharon Tate — the actress and model who was murdered by Charles Manson’s followers in 1969. Although little is known about the project, Tarantino recently revealed that it’s more about 1969 than Manson and his “family.” (Personally, I’m hoping for Tarantino to give us the Manson version of David Fincher’s Zodiac.)

Whatever the film is actually about, a new Tarantino movie is always a huge draw, which is why the major studios are all vying for a chance to distribute it. Per Variety, Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount have emerged as finalists in a bidding war to potentially acquire Tarantino’s latest. Warner Bros. has reportedly gone to great lengths to win Tarantino over:

When Tarantino arrived at the studio’s Burbank lot, he found the circular entrance in front of the administration building adorned with cars from the late 1960s. The Warner Bros. logo circa 1969 was on the marquee outside the studio, and the executive conference room was outfitted with vintage furniture from the era and mock posters for the movie.

That said, Paramount could still have a leg up on the competition given their working relationship with Tom Cruise; if they could deliver the actor to Tarantino, that may well give them the advantage. In any case, it looks as though Tarantino may be close to cutting a deal with one of the lucky studio-suitors, and we should know more about his film (and its inevitably stellar cast) in the coming months.

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