Tom Cruiserarely needs a stunt double, if ever. For years,he’s done somedeath-defying stuntsall in the name of entertainment, especially when it comes to theMission: Impossiblefranchise. And apparently, that’s small potatoes compared to the stunts that are coming inMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which opens July 25, 2025.
While speaking withEmpire Magazine, director Christopher McQuarrie detailed just how crazy the stunts would be, especiallya scene heavily teased in the first trailer, whereCruise is literally hanging from the wing of a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane, 10,000 feet in the air. It wasn’t shot on a sound stage, either;the sequence was filmed on location in South Africa. McQuarrie commented on the stunt work, saying:
“There are stunts in this movie that will melt your brain. There would be a day in Africa — any day in Africa — where Tom would go out and do something that topped anything he had ever done before.”
Check out the cover of Empire with an image of Cruise performing the stunt:
Cruise also spoke about just how thin the air is at that altitude, telling Empire:
“When you stick your face out, going over 120 to 130 miles an hour, you’re not getting oxygen. So I had to train myself how to breathe.There were times I would pass out physically; I was unable to get back into the cockpit.”
A few weeks ago,McQuarrie confirmed just how crazy the action will be, sayingit was too much for one audience member at a recent test screening:
“We had a small screening and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence.I almost had a heart attack.’ And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.’”
That’s all an action film fan could ask for.Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Onefeaturedone of Cruise’s craziest stunts, when he was on a motorcycle and performed “the mountain leap,” by careening off a cliff and pulling a parachute after free falling for a bit and landing perfectly. Cruise is always willing to go the extra mile (pun intended) to thrill audiences. Keep in mind,he thanked audiences for makingTop Gun: Mavericka monstrous hit while jumping out of a planeduring the production ofDead Reckoning - Part One.
WIll ‘Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning’ Really be the Last Film?
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis being marketed as the final film, and it sure felt that way with the first trailer for the film. Cruise’s co-starSimon Pegg said that the stunts were “bananas,” and it’s “the best one ever,” withthe series potentially going out on a massive bang after eight films over 29 years.
All Mission: Impossible Movies in Order Chronologically and by Release Date
The Mission: Impossible franchise is one of the best in the action genre. Here’s how to watch the films in chronological and release order.
However, at the end of last year,a report emerged saying that Cruise was looking to continue the series, althoughwith a new actor being cast as a younger Ethan Hunt. According toThe Sun:
“Tom is keen to give Mission: Impossible a fresh take in the next two films and wants to explore a bit of Ethan’s past. They’re going tostart looking for a young star to take on the role, and they will appear a bit in the next film and then more in the ninth. It’s very important to Tom that they get the right person. They are seeking a youngster who is completely fresh on the scene and will cause a stir. It’s a huge role, but the hunt is on to see if they can find a young Tom Cruise.”
Take that with a huge grain of salt. For theMission: Impossibleseries to continue, Paramount, Skydance, Cruise, McQuarrie, and the production team will want to see what the box office returns are.Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Onedid decent at the global box office with $570 million, but it was against apricey $300 million production budget. Not a disaster, but not exactly a hit, and not nearly as good asFallout’snearly $800 million worldwide box office haul. IfThe Final Reckoningis a massive hit when it opens over Memorial Day Weekend later this year,there will likely be serious conversations about continuing the series.
