For a man who has swung from a 2,700ft building, clung to the outside of a plane taking off and learned to hold his breath underwater for six minutes, a parachute jump doesn’t represent a Mission: Impossible, even at the age of 58.
Tom Cruise, who famously likes to perform his own stunts, last week threw himself out of a helicopter 10,000ft over the Oxfordshire countryside for the latest movie in the franchise.
Two of the other cast members joined him in the skydive after filming on Mission: Impossible 7 resumed following a Covid shutdown.
Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie has promised at least three ‘obscene’ stunts as the franchise continues, admitting that even he’s ‘terrified’ of his own plans.
Cruise has been practising his stunts during lockdown, and has been seen racing around dirt tracks on a motocross bike and piloting a helicopter.
The actor broke his ankle while filming a stunt for the last Mission: Impossible movie in London three years ago, but that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for daredevil action.
He later recalled how he sustained the injury when his foot hit a wall during a heart-stopping rooftop chase involving co-star Henry Cavill.
‘I knew instantly my ankle was broken,’ he said. ‘But I really didn’t want to do it again so just got up and carried on with the take.
‘[After the shot] I said “It’s broken, that’s a wrap, take me to hospital”, and everyone got on the phone and made their vacation arrangement.’
Cruise – who is planning to shoot a future movie on board the International Space Station – personally lobbied Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden for permission to allow shooting to restart on Mission: Impossible 7, despite the coronavirus crisis, but with a reduced crew. It is now due for release in November next year.
Last week it was revealed that McQuarrie wanted to blow up a 111-year-old bridge in Poland as part of the shoot, much to the consternation of locals.
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