By Kayla DeKraker
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING is on its way to theaters, and its star, Tom Cruise, did some pretty intense stunts to make the eighth movie in the franchise…possible.
One scene in the film shows Cruise walking on the wing of an airborne airplane, and no, that isn’t CGI. Cruise really did it.
“I’m an aerobatic pilot being able to fly these airplanes, so I now choose the airplane and present it — what colors should they be, what engineers do I have building this aircraft and working on the engines and how far can I push that aircraft?” Cruise told TikTok creator Reece Feldman of how he prepared for the stunt. “Now I have to hire the crew; I audition the crew around me. And I’m learning how to wing walk, and this kind of wing-walking that we’re doing has never been done before because what I want to do is really, really extreme.”
Cruise and his team had to navigate the challenges that come with pulling off such a wild stunt.
He explained, “I’m going, ‘How long can I hold the airplane in an inverted position?’ The engine stops after a few seconds because it’s not a fuel injection, so I know the engine’s going to stop. So what we have to do is just take our time, and I’m just approaching it step by step.”
Achieving the stunt was intense.
“I’m a human being on that airplane — it was violent. It was so violent on that airplane,” he continued. “The amount of air force that’s coming over that wing…”
Cruise shared more about wing-walking with TODAY.
“The speeds, you know, that we’re ranging were from 97 miles an hour to a 145 miles an hour. And the force, the air flow, and the force over the wing and on my body was really significant,” he said. “I wanted to go zero-g between the wings and when you’re seeing that stuff, I mean I literally just have a wire attached.”
Related: Tom Cruise Lived Out This Childhood Dream on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Set
He added, “It’s very interesting. We’re released little pieces as we go along to give the audience what it’s like.”
The TODAY team joked that he should probably win some kind of award for pulling off such a stunt.
Several weeks ago, Cruise took to his Instagram account to share a behind-the-scenes clip of him hanging from an upside-down airplane hundreds of feet in the air.
People in the comment section were concerned and amazed. “What you do for entertaining the audience is often too dangerous…, but I believe in you because you believe in yourself. ❤” one user said. Another fan said, “Your amazing Tom at what you do! 😜 Thank you for sharing part of your life with us!”
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FINAL RECKONING is set to release May 23, 2025.
Read Next: The Surprising Way Tom Cruise Preps for Death-Defying MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Stunts
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