Tom Cruise has jumped out of a plane once again – this time to say another thank you to Top Gun: Maverick fans while hurtling through the troposphere.
“Hey everyone, here we are over stunning South Africa filming ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’ parts one and two,” Cruise yells into a camera, over the roaring ambient noise of a whirring airplane. “I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming to theaters and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”
After a little over 20 seconds, the camera pans to reveal Christopher McQuarrie returning to the Mission: Impossible series to direct Dead Reckoning. McQuarrie also wrote and produced Top Gun: Maverick with Cruise and David Ellison.
McQuarrie also thanks fans of the Top Gun franchise before turning back to Cruise: “Hey, listen, we really need to get going. We need to get that shot.”
Cruise grins, nonchalantly points a finger gun at McQuarrie before promptly jumping off the plane – presumably next to a cameraman. With his whole body stretched out in a starfish position to brace against air resistance, Cruise returns his attention to the camera and resumes his speech.
“As always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you. It really is the honor of a lifetime. I’m running out of altitude so I have to get back to work. We gotta get that shot. You have a very safe and happy holiday. See you at the movies,” Cruise concludes, before being blown toward the ocean in a wind current.
Top Gun: Maverick remains the highest-grossing film of the year, earning a whopping $718 million at the domestic box office and $1.4 billion worldwide.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will see the return of several other franchise veterans such as Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby and Henry Czerny. The official trailer features Cruise in a series of action-packed sequences, including a fistfight in a nightclub, a chase on a moving train, and of course, plenty of falls.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be released in theaters on July 14, 2023 by Paramount Pictures. The sequel, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, is currently scheduled for release on June 28, 2024.