Tom Cruise Forces Director to Walk Plane Wing in Stunt Proof

Legendary actor Tom Cruise has truly elevated the "impossible" in the Mission: Impossible series, especially with the eighth installment, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. In a bold move, director Christopher McQuarrie challenged Cruise with stunts that were, quite literally, impossible. To drive home the difficulty of these feats, McQuarrie himself took on the challenge to experience the impossibility firsthand.

During a recent press conference in Tokyo for the film, Cruise recounted a conversation with McQuarrie about a particular stunt. "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 said. "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 as deceptively simple. "Anything you'd describe, [he'd] say, 'No, you actually can't do that.' And I don't hear 'can't' from him," McQuarrie noted, highlighting Cruise's usual determination.

Despite his extensive experience with death-defying stunts in the M:I films, Cruise emphasized the physical 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. To help McQuarrie understand, Cruise provided a "20-minute tutorial" on the stunt's challenges. "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, who embraced the experience, remarked, "It was great, actually. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again." Cruise also shared that he had been training for this stunt for years, emphasizing that choosing the right aircraft was crucial for executing the stunt successfully.

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival from May 13 to May 24, 2025, before hitting theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025. This film promises to be a thrilling addition to the iconic franchise, showcasing the limits of what's possible on screen.