Tom Cruise wishes fans Happy Holidays with mind-blowing plane stunt

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Tom Cruise has thanked moviegoers for supporting Top Gun: Maverick in the most Tom Cruise way possible — by hurling himself out of a flying plane.

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While filming a scene from his upcoming Mission: Impossible sequel, the grinning actor teased some of the action that is in store for audiences when Dead Reckoning Part One hits theatres next summer.

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“Hey everyone, here we are over stunning South Africa, and we’re filming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two,” Cruise yells as he’s filmed in mid-air. “I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theatres, and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”

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Cruise then shares a bit of banter with the film’s director Christopher McQuarrie before he’s told they need to get the shot.

“Hey, listen, we really have got to roll. We’ve got to get this shot,” McQuarrie says.

Cruise asks his filmmaking pal if he’s going to join him (“Not on your life! McQuarrie exclaims) and then jumps out of the plane, before continuing his speech.

“As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you. It truly is the honour of a lifetime,” he yells before being whisked away into the blue sky. “I’m running out of altitude, so I’ve got to get back to work. We’ve got to get this shot. You have a very safe and happy holiday. We’ll see you at the movies.”

With over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office, Top Gun: Maverick was the biggest movie of 2022 and is Cruise’s highest-grossing title of all time. After Spider-Man: No Way Home, it’s only the second title since the COVID-19 pandemic to earn $1 billion.

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And a new behind-the-scenes featurette from Dead Reckoning Part One shows off the actor’s most death-defying stunt as he parachutes off a motorbike after it goes off the side of a cliff in Norway.

“This is far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted,” McQuarrie says.

“I’ve been wanting to do it since I was a little kid,” Cruise adds.

But the action man was filmed dangling to the side of a plane as he celebrated his 60th birthday this summer in another hair-raising stunt from the eighth instalment, so maybe this will be the second-most craziest scene he’s ever filmed.

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During a Toronto stop on his press tour for 2015’s Rogue Nation, Cruise admitted that all of the stunts over the years have been a little challenging.

“The Mojave scene (from M:I 2) … The Burj (from Ghost Protocol), that was dangerous. The A400 (in Rogue Nation) was really dangerous. The motorcycle (scene in Rogue Nation), that was dangerous too.” But he added, “I’m an extreme guy. And I want to entertain.”

Plus, he continued, sometimes having a look of panic adds to the authenticity of what moviegoers see up on the screen.

“There’s a little bit of panicking. But it helps the performance.”

Dead Reckoning Part One, which also stars Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rob Delaney and Esai Morales, will be released on July 14, 2023, with M:I 8 hitting theatres in 2024.

mdaniell@postmedia.com

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