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Tom Cruise will be taking one giant leap into space to shoot his next movie following the success of "Top Gun: Maverick", which grossed over US$1.4 billion at the box office.
Photo via Top Gun: Maverick
In an interview with BBC, Donna Langley, head of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, mentioned that Cruise and "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman came up with the idea and got the ball rolling way back in 2020.
During the pandemic, they pitched an insane idea to Langley over Zoom, in which the movie initially takes place on Earth, and Cruise’s character has to go up to space to save the day.
If all goes according to plan, Cruise will be the “first civilian to do a spacewalk outside a space station”, Langley said.
“Tom Cruise is taking us to space. He’s taking the world to space," Langley added. "That’s the plan.”
This will be Hollywood's first-ever narrative feature film shot in space.
Top Gun: Spaceman
It is also revealed that Cruise will be working closely with NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX company on the currently untitled film.
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted his excitement about working with the movie star.
He said he hopes the film will inspire “a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA’s ambitious plans a reality”.
Elon Musk later replied to the tweet, saying that the project “should be a lot of fun!”
Out of this world
Hollywood news outlet Deadline also confirmed that this film will not be part of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise -- the cinematic universe in which most of Cruise's daredevil stunts take place.
The franchise is intertwined with the actor's career.
In its previous instalments, Cruise was seen dangling from airplanes in "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation", and scaling the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, in "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol".
Cruise broke his ankle filming "Mission: Impossible Fallout", which halted filming for seven weeks in order for him to recover from his injuries.
The series, with a total of six films, has grossed over US$3.5 billion.
The next film in the franchise is set to be released in two parts, and is titled, "Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning".
It is anticipated to be released in July 2023, after being delayed due to the pandemic.
Top photos via Top Gun: Maverick