MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING Director Shares INSANE Details of Tom Cruise’s New Stunt: “No One on Earth Can Do That”
As Tom Cruise continues to do his own stunts, he also redefines what’s physically possible for a human being. But even by his gravity-defying standards, the latest story from Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning sounds absolutely unhinged… in the best way.
During a Masterclass at Cannes, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed jaw-dropping new details about one of Cruise’s most intense stunts yet. And in typical Tom fashion, it involved flying solo in a vintage biplane 10,000 feet over the African landscape.
No crew. No safety net. Just Cruise, the sky, and a whole lot of adrenaline. McQuarrie said:
“When you watch Tom tonight, there’s a moment where he’s in an airplane. He’s in a biplane, completely alone at the controls, and his biplane suffers some damage. Spoiler, there’s tension in this scene.”
But it gets even wilder. According to McQuarrie, Cruise wasn’t just piloting the aircraft, he was literally the entire film crew for the scene.
“Tom is lighting the shot by how he’s positioning the plane and its relationship to the sun, and he’s operating focus just off-camera. He is the crew in every single shot you’re seeing. And nobody tells you to stop.”
There was one way to communicate, an that was radio. But when Cruise left the cockpit and walked onto the wing, even that lifeline was severed. The professional wing-walker they consulted explicitly warned not to do that. Cruise’s response? “‘Thank you for your time,’” McQuarrie recalled. That was Cruise-speak for, “I’m doing it anyway.”
With no radio connection, McQuarrie had to pilot a helicopter alongside the plane, hoping Cruise could see his hand signals. That meant McQuarrie himself had to lean out of his chopper mid-flight, clinging to the edge of the open door. But the real punishment was what Cruise endured outside that cockpit. McQuarrie said:
“When you leave the cockpit of the plane, it’s like stepping onto the surface of another planet. The wind is hitting you in excess of 140 miles an hour coming off of the propeller. The molecules in the air are so dispersed. You’re breathing, but only physically. You’re not actually getting oxygen.”
Timing was critical as Cruise had around 12 minutes before his body would start to break down under the conditions, like “two hours in the gym,” McQuarrie noted. “Tom, being the perfectionist that he is, would get to about 12 minutes, and I would lean out the door at the helicopter, and Tom would go, ‘13 minutes.’”
But then came the scariest part. Cruise hit a wall. He was so physically drained, he couldn’t get up. He lay on the wing, arms draped over the edge, totally motionless. McQuarrie admitted:
“We could not tell if he was conscious or not. You can’t do this when you’re unconscious. So we’re waiting to see if there’s any indication if Tom is OK.”
Oh, and the plane had only three minutes of fuel left. That was it. “He’s got three minutes to get up, but he’s been on that wing for 20 minutes,” McQuarrie said.
Then, Cruise stirred. He pulled himself up, wedged his head into the cockpit to regain oxygen, climbed inside, and landed the plane safely. McQuarrie said.
“No one on Earth can do that.”
Holy shit. At this point, it’s not even fair to call these “stunts.” They’re physical feats of madness that only Tom Cruise would dare to attempt.
Source: Deadline
