Tom Cruise Forces Director onto Plane Wing to Prove Stunt Feasibility

Legendary actor Tom Cruise has consistently pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in the Mission: Impossible series, and the eighth installment, Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning, is no exception. Director Christopher McQuarrie challenged Cruise with stunts that seemed truly impossible, but Cruise’s experience over the years proved invaluable. During a press conference in Tokyo, Cruise recalled a conversation with McQuarrie where the director proposed a stunt that seemed insurmountable.

“And then we talked about the story, and [McQuarrie] said, ‘Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds,’” Cruise recounted. “I told him, ‘That’s just not possible.’ He replied, ‘Well, I want you to do this and that.’ Again, I said, ‘I really can’t do that.’”

“It was such a simple task,” McQuarrie chimed in, laughing. “Anything I described, Cruise would say, ‘No, you actually can’t do that.’ And I don’t hear ‘can’t’ from him often.”

For Cruise, who has performed countless daring stunts throughout the Mission: Impossible series, his instincts were spot-on. “I explained that the speed required, combined with the force of the air, made moving quickly on the wing nearly impossible,” Cruise elaborated. “The physics of the aircraft’s speed and wind pressure were brutal.” To drive home the point, Cruise gave McQuarrie a “20-minute tutorial” to demonstrate the challenges firsthand. “You’re limited by the laws of physics,” Cruise insisted. “So, I suggested, ‘Why don’t you try it yourself? Sit in the plane, go out on the wing, and feel the pressure.’ And guess what? Here I am, teaching the director.”

McQuarrie embraced the experience wholeheartedly. “It was fantastic,” he admitted. “A lot of fun. I’d definitely do it again.” Cruise also noted during the conference that he had been training for this particular stunt for years, emphasizing the importance of selecting the right aircraft to pull it off successfully.

Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2025 and hit theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025.