Tom Cruise has truly redefined the meaning of "impossible" throughout his Mission: Impossible career - and he's pushing boundaries even further in the franchise's eighth installment, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The actor recently revealed that director Christopher McQuarrie originally proposed stunts bordering on physically unachievable - until Cruise had McQuarrie attempt them himself.
"During our story discussions, McQuarrie kept suggesting moves like 'Okay, I need you to get from point A to point B within seconds,'" Cruise shared at the Tokyo press conference. "I had to keep telling him, 'That's physically impossible.' Then he'd propose something even crazier, and I'd respond, 'Seriously, that can't be done.'"
McQuarrie admitted Cruise's resistance surprised him: "It was surprisingly basic stuff. Every stunt I described, Tom would say 'No human can actually do that.' Hearing 'can't' from him was completely unexpected."
Having performed countless death-defying stunts throughout the franchise, Cruise knew exactly why McQuarrie's ideas wouldn't work. "When we examined the physics - the aircraft speed and wind forces - even simple movements became brutally difficult," Cruise explained. His solution? Make McQuarrie experience the conditions firsthand: "I told him, 'The best way to understand is to try it yourself. Feel those g-forces.' So suddenly I found myself training my own director."
The unusual role reversal worked perfectly. "Actually, it was fantastic," McQuarrie admitted. "An incredible experience - I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Cruise also revealed he'd spent years preparing for this specific stunt, emphasizing that aircraft selection became crucial to making it workable.
Audiences will witness the payoff when Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning premieres at Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24, 2025) before its global theatrical release on May 23, 2025.
