At a recent Masterclass event during the Cannes Film Festival, audiences were treated to some shocking details about Tom Cruise’s latest death-defying stunt in ‘Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning.’
Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie, who led the discussion, shared insights on a particularly harrowing scene that has viewers on the edge of their seats.
In one pivotal moment, Cruise finds himself alone in a biplane at an altitude of 10,000 feet over the sweeping African landscape. McQuarrie elaborated on the intensity of the situation, stating that the plane encounters significant damage, creating immediate tension in the scene.
What sets this stunt apart is that Cruise effectively becomes the entire crew for this shot. He not only controls the biplane but also manipulates the lighting by positioning the aircraft in relation to the sun while managing focus off-camera.
Communication between McQuarrie and Cruise during this high-stakes moment was limited to radio contact. However, the film’s lead actor decided to push boundaries further by venturing out onto the wing of the plane, despite receiving warnings from a professional wing-walker not to undertake such a risky maneuver.
McQuarrie recalled Cruise’s response to this advice, which was simply: ‘Thank you for your time.’
Consequently, communication shifted to hand signals. At this point, McQuarrie found himself forced to fly alongside Cruise in a helicopter, a situation that required him to open the helicopter door and perch precariously outside for Cruise to see him clearly.
The conditions for the stunt were incredibly daunting. According to McQuarrie, stepping out of the cockpit felt like moving onto the surface of another planet due to the fierce winds exceeding 140 miles per hour coming off the propeller.
He described the difficulty of breathing in those conditions, noting that while Cruise could inhale, he was not actually receiving adequate oxygen due to the dispersed air molecules.
To keep track of the time Cruise spent outside, 1st assistant director Mary Boulder was timing the stunt. McQuarrie explained they had previously established that the human body could only safely endure around 12 minutes in such taxing environments.
In an exertion that mimicked intense physical activity akin to two hours in the gym, Cruise reached that 12-minute mark while trying to maintain his balance on the wing. Just as McQuarrie was preparing to lean out of the helicopter to check on him, Cruise managed to humorously remind McQuarrie that he had gone for ’13 minutes.’
However, there was an alarming moment when it appeared Cruise had pushed himself to exhaustion, lying on the wing with his arms draped over the front, making it impossible to tell if he was conscious.
Despite having previously agreed that he could call ‘Cut’ if needed, there was a critical concern; the plane had only three minutes of fuel left, and Cruise still was yet to climb back into the cockpit.
As McQuarrie and the crew watched anxiously, Cruise demonstrated incredible willpower, finally managing to pull himself up and re-enter the plane. He quickly replenished his oxygen before successfully landing the aircraft.
McQuarrie captured the essence of the moment when he stated, ‘No one on Earth can do that,’ emphasizing Cruise’s unparalleled dedication to performing his own stunts.
image source from：https://deadline.com/2025/05/mission-impossible-the-final-reckoning-tom-cruise-stunt-1236397131/
