Tom Cruise Forces Director onto Plane Wing to Prove Stunt Feasibility

It goes without saying that legendary actor Tom Cruise has redefined the word “impossible” throughout the *Mission: Impossible* film series — but with the eighth installment, *Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning*, he’s pushing the limits like never before. Director Christopher McQuarrie, known for his bold vision, reportedly pitched some truly extreme stunts for the film, so intense that Cruise had to draw a line and show McQuarrie just how impossible they were — literally.

During a recent press conference in Tokyo promoting the movie, Cruise shared how McQuarrie envisioned a particular stunt sequence that required him to move from one point to another in mere seconds. “He said, ‘Okay, I want you to go from here to here in a couple of seconds,’” Cruise recalled. “I was like, ‘I can’t do that.’ And then he kept adding more moves. I just kept replying, ‘I really can’t do that.’”

Putting the Director to the Test

McQuarrie admitted that what seemed simple on paper turned out to be far more difficult than expected. “It was the simplest thing,” he explained. “Every time I described something, he’d say, ‘No, you actually can’t do that.’ And I don’t hear ‘can’t’ from him very often.”

For Cruise, whose years of experience performing jaw-dropping stunts in the franchise speak for themselves, the issue came down to physics. “I told him, ‘In terms of speed, the force of the air makes it impossible to move quickly on the wing,’” he said. After a 20-minute explanation, Cruise decided the best way to get his point across was to put McQuarrie through the motions himself. “You’re limited by the aircraft's speed and wind pressure — it’s brutal. So I said, ‘Listen, the best thing is if you just do it. Go sit in the plane, walk out on the wing, feel the pressure. So there I was, training the director.”

Surprisingly, McQuarrie not only accepted the challenge — he loved it. “It was great, actually,” he laughed. “Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I would definitely do it again.” Cruise also revealed that he had been preparing for this specific stunt for years, with much of its success relying on selecting the right aircraft for the job.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Premiere Date

Fans won’t have to wait much longer to witness these incredible stunts unfold on the big screen. *Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning* will make its world premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, running from May 13 to May 24, 2025. Following its debut, the film will hit theaters worldwide on May 23, 2025, bringing yet another high-octane chapter to one of cinema’s most thrilling action franchises.