Tom Cruise has certainly redefined the meaning of "impossible" throughout his Mission: Impossible career – and he's pushing boundaries yet again for the eighth installment, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The actor recently revealed that director Christopher McQuarrie proposed genuinely impossible stunts for the film, leading Cruise to put McQuarrie through the paces himself to demonstrate the challenges.
"We discussed several action sequences where McQuarrie would say, 'I need you to move from point A to point B in seconds,'" Cruise shared during a Tokyo press conference. "I'd respond, 'Physically impossible.' He'd counter with another idea, and I'd have to explain, 'That's literally not doable either.'"
"What surprised me was how basic the problematic stunt seemed," McQuarrie admitted. "Every suggestion I made, Tom kept saying, 'No human can do that.' Coming from him, that really meant something."
The veteran stunt performer drew from years of experience to educate his director. "The aircraft's speed creates wind forces that make rapid wing movements impractical," Cruise explained. "After a 20-minute demonstration, McQuarrie finally understood. I ultimately told him, 'The best way to grasp this is to experience it yourself,' so we trained him on the wing."
Far from being intimidated, McQuarrie embraced the challenge. "It was an incredible experience – thrilling actually," the director said. "I'd do it again without hesitation." Cruise noted that perfecting these sequences required years of preparation and careful aircraft selection.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will debut at the Cannes Film Festival (May 13-24, 2025) before its global theatrical release on May 23, 2025.
