From doctor to villain? Hugh Laurie in talks to play George Clooney's foe in Tomorrowland

Hugh Laurie is considering a role in Tomorrowland (Getty Images)

House actor Hugh Laurie is in talks to play a villain opposite George Clooney in sci-fi film Tomorrowland.

The film, directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible -Ghost Protocol) and co-written by Damon Lindelof, is pitched as a tribute to the Steven Spielberg alien classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Clooney is set to play the film's hero with Laurie being set up to play his nemesis. His eight-year stint playing bad tempered surgeon Gregory House came to an end last year.

The name Tomorrowland is thought to have been inspired by an area in Florida's Disneyland theme park that contains sci-fi-themed entertainment.

Screenwriter Lindelof is well placed for another alien drama having just penned JJ Abrams' Star Trek sequel Into Darkness and Ridley Scott's Prometheus.

His co-writer is Entertainment Weekly writer Jeff Jenson.