Tom Cruise has tackled more death-defying stunts than just about any actor out there, and it seems that the actor is set to take his Earth-bound stunts to the next level by filming a movie in outer-space; yep, no green-screens for this guy. Word emerged yesterday that a project was taking shape which would see Tom Cruise and Elon Musk's Space X working on a film with NASA which would become the first narrative feature-film to be shot in outer space, and NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine chimed in on Twitter today to confirm the news.
The project is still in the very early stages, and given how much work would doubtlessly be involved in making this a reality, it's hard to say when Tom Cruise will be heading to the final frontier, but you can bet my butt will be front and center whenever this thing is released. As for how Elon Musk's Space X will factor into the proceedings, it's likely that Cruise will be hitching a ride to the International Space Station aboard Space X's Crew Dragon, which will be launching its first manned mission to the ISS later this month.
While many suspected that Tom Cruise might head to space for one of the upcoming MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE sequels, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has previously teased teased that they've worked out some more crazy Earth-bound stunts for Tom Cruise to tackle in the new films. "We've figured out three obscene things that he's doing that I'm terrified of, that make the helicopter chase look like tinker toys," McQuarrie said. Speaking of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, production on the next installment(s) of the long-running franchise was underway before COVID-19 forced them to shut-down. As a result, the release dates of the two films were pushed back, with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7 now set to hit theaters on November 19, 2021, with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 following on November 4, 2022.