Legendary actor Tom Cruise has truly redefined the word "impossible" with each successive installment of the Mission: Impossible series. For the eighth film, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, Cruise has pushed the boundaries even further. He revealed that director Christopher McQuarrie challenged him with stunts that were genuinely impossible. To demonstrate the difficulty, Cruise had McQuarrie experience the stunt himself.
During a recent press conference in Tokyo for the film, Cruise explained, "And then we talked about story and [McQuarrie] was like, 'Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds.' I was like, 'I can't do that.' He's like, 'Okay, well, I want you to do this and this.' I was like, 'I really can't do that.'" McQuarrie added, "It was the simplest thing. Anything you'd describe, [he'd] say, 'No, you actually can't do that.' And I don't hear 'can't' from him."
Cruise, who has performed numerous death-defying stunts throughout the Mission: Impossible series, emphasized the physical challenges involved. "I said, 'Just in terms of the speed, because the force of the air, for me to move quickly on the wing was… You just can't do it,'" he explained. He detailed how a "20-minute tutorial" helped McQuarrie understand the limitations. "You're limited by the physics of how fast the aircraft is traveling and the force of the wind, that was utterly brutal. So I just said, 'Listen, I think the best thing is if you just do it. Go out, sit in the airplane, go out on the wing, and feel it. Feel the pressure. So, here I am, training him.'" McQuarrie found the experience exhilarating, stating, "It was great, actually. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again." Cruise also mentioned that he had been training for this specific stunt for years and that much of its success hinged on selecting the right aircraft.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, running from May 13 to May 24, 2025. The film will then hit theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025, promising another thrilling addition to the iconic franchise.
