Tom Cruise Forces Director Onto Plane Wing to Prove Stunt Feasibility

It's no secret that legendary actor Tom Cruise has continuously pushed the envelope with the "Mission: Impossible" series, making the seemingly impossible a reality. However, for the eighth installment, "Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning," Cruise faced challenges that even he deemed impossible. During a recent press conference in Tokyo, Cruise shared that director Christopher McQuarrie envisioned some truly daunting stunts for the film. To illustrate the difficulty, Cruise humorously turned the tables and had McQuarrie attempt the stunt himself.

"And then we talked about the story and [McQuarrie] was like, 'Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds,'" Cruise recounted. "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 chimed in, describing the stunt that stumped Cruise: "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, known for his death-defying stunts in the "M:I" franchise, used his vast experience to explain the limitations he faced. "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 went on to describe how a "20-minute tutorial" helped McQuarrie understand the challenge. "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, to his surprise, found the experience enjoyable. "It was great, actually," he said. "Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again." Cruise also revealed that he had been training for this particular stunt for years, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right aircraft to make it work.

"Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning" is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, taking place from May 13 to May 24, 2025. Following its debut, the film will be released in theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025.