The actor spent "years" preparing for his biggest stunt yet. Photo / Twitter
The actor spent "years" preparing for his biggest stunt yet. Photo / Twitter
Mission Impossible fans, you’re about to see the biggest stunt performed in cinema history.
Tom Cruise is about to hit the big screen for the lastest film in the Mission Impossible franchise, Dead Reckoning Part One (aka M:I 7) but before he does, the franchise have released a behind-the-scenes lookat what it took to create one of the actor’s stunts.
In an almost 10-minute video, the actor tells fans, “this is far and away the most dangerous thing we have attempted”, before explaining he is about to drive a motorbike off a cliff which will then turn into a base jump.
In the following minutes of the video, it becomes clear the star was not joking about his intentions as we see him learn motocross, complete 500 skydives and work with the team to see how they are going to bring it all together.
Tom Cruise talking to director Christopher McQuarrie. Photo / Twitter
In the video Cruise explains the stunt required “years” of preparation, seeing him work with experts from multiple fields to ensure it went smoothly and debatably the most important thing, a particular mindset.
“Don’t be careful, be confident,” the star laughs.
Appearing in the video, Miles Daisher, a base jumping coach, complimented the actor’s ability: “You tell him something, and he just locks it in.
“His sense of spatial awareness - he is the most aware person I’ve ever met.”
While the film’s writer and director, Christopher McQuarrie, explained learning the stunt was only one part of the puzzle. The other was figuring out how they were going to film it which included placing a GPS on Cruise so they knew his exact trajectory at each point of the stunt and could film in the most effective way.
“Even two years ago, the cameras didn’t exist that would allow us to do what we are trying to do today,” he said.
The star is no stranger to shocking stunts. Photo / Twitter
Tom Cruise rides a motorbike off a cliff for his latest stunt. Photo / Twitter
At the end of the behind-the-scenes clip, Cruise successfully completed the jump six times resulting in a very happy team before McQuarrie added, “The only thing that scares me more is what we have planned for Mission: [Impossible] 8.”
While the stunt comes as a shock to some, it’s no surprise to fans of the action star.
Cruise has been known for pushing the boundaries with his recent stunts, including jumping out of a plane to thank fans for the success of Top Gun: Maverick - the year’s most successful film at the box office, raking in almost US$1.5 billion ($2.3b) worldwide.
Maverick currently stands as the 11th highest-grossing film of all time, just behind 2015′s Furious 7 and 2012′s The Avengers.
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is set to release on July 14, 2023.
