Just whenever you thought Tom Cruise achieved his best possible cinematic triumph with the success of the Top Gun sequel, the blockbuster star comes up with an concept that is, quite literally, out of this world.
The 60-year-old Hollywood veteran has reportedly teamed up with The Bourne Identity director Doug Liman on a movie pitch that involves filming in space, which was first tabled in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic halted plans.
Cruise and Liman are said to have reached out to Universal Filmed Entertainment Group (UFEG) on an idea which can see the actor take a rocket as much as the International Space Station.
Tom Cruise has done nearly every possible stunt on Earth, and space is next on the list.Getty Images for Paramount Pictu
“I believe Tom Cruise is taking us to space, he’s taking the world to space,” UFEG Chairman Donna Langley said, per BBC News.
“That’s the plan. We’ve a fantastic project in development with Tom … Taking a rocket as much as the Space Station and shooting.”
Langley revealed many of the movie could be shot on earth, culminating in “the character [going] as much as space to save lots of the day”, adding she is hopeful Cruise will develop into “the primary civilian to do an area walk outside of the space station.”
Doug Liman, who directed The Bourne Identity, is teaming up with Tom Cruise for the actor’s next blockbuster.Getty Images for Tribeca Festiva
If the film gets off the bottom, Cruise could be the primary movie star to shoot in outer space on the International Space Station.
While the move is definitely unprecedented, it’s fair to say it’s unsurprising Cruise is setting his sights for space, with the Jerry Maguire actor renowned for his ambitious stunt work.
On Cruise’s sixtieth birthday in July, Mission: Unattainable director Christopher McQuarrie shared a rare photo of the US actor performing a really insane stunt.
Within the image, Cruise will be seen dangling from an airborne red biplane with little or no – if any – assistance.
He made headlines when he was injured on the set of Mission Unattainable 6 in 2017, with leaked video footage showing his death-defying leap onto a rooftop go horribly improper.
Cruise was seen slamming right into a constructing, hanging mid-air in his harness before pulling himself up onto the roof and stumbling towards crew members.
The logistics aren’t clear yet, but Cruise would utilize the ISS because the background for the movie.Getty Images
Just just a few months later, he was back on-set in London shooting stunts again.
Cruise was recently asked on the Cannes Film Festival why he chooses to forgo a stunt actor, reportedly responding: “Nobody asked Gene Kelly, ‘Why do you dance?’”
Appreciation for Cruise, who has been working in Hollywood because the early ’80s, is at a fever pitch after the large success of the long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.
It became the fifth highest-grossing film in Australia just just a few weeks after its May release, having since rocketed to 3rd place and notched over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.
