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Tom Cruise: All New Movies Coming Out in 2023 and 2024

After his breakthrough with leading roles in ‘Risky Business’ and ‘ Top Gun ‘ in the 1980s, Thomas “Tom” Cruise Mapother IV started bagging pivotal roles in several dramas, including ‘ Born on the Fourth of July ,’ for which he even won a Golden Globe Award and got nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the 1990s, he rose to newer heights of stardom by featuring in various commercially successful films, such as ‘ A Few Good Men ,’ ‘ Interview with the Vampire ,’ ‘The Firm,’ and ‘ Jerry Maguire .’

Once he impacted dramas, he started traversing the action and sci-fi genres. By landing some iconic roles in the ‘ Mission: Impossible ‘ film series, ‘ Collateral ,’ ‘ Edge of Tomorrow ,’ and ‘ Top Gun: Maverick ,’ he established himself as an action star, performing most of the risky stunts on his own. The winner of three Golden Globe Awards, four nominations for the Oscars, and an Honorary Palme d’Or, Tom Cruise is known to be one of the world’s highest-paid actors. Given his immense popularity and fandom, most of our readers are looking forward to his future projects. Here is a list of all the upcoming movies and TV shows of Tom Cruise!

1. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two (2024)

Tom Cruise recently jumped off a cliff on a motorbike for ‘ Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ‘ and he will be in action soon enough in its sequel, ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.’ Helmed by Christopher McQuarrie, the spy action movie is the eighth installment in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ film series with Cruise reprising his role as Ethan Hunt for the eighth time running.

Although the plot details are kept under wraps, the action-adventure film is most likely to resume Ethan’s hunt for The Entity as he meets some new friends and foes along the way. The production for the sequel began in March 2022 but is yet to be finished due to the delay caused by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Having gone through several postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to its release date, it is now officially set to be released on June 28, 2024. But it is very much possible that it will get postponed again due to the pause in production.

2. Untitled Tom Cruise/SpaceX Project (TBA)

Tom Cruise is set to take his status as an action star to the next level by traveling out of Earth to film the first ever Hollywood motion picture in outer space. In May 2020, it was reported that Elon Musk’s Space X and Cruise were working on an action-adventure project with NASA. Not only is Cruise expected to be blasted into space alongside filmmaker Doug Liman, with whom he has previously worked in ‘ American Made ‘ and ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ for the upcoming film, but he will also live up to his reputation by attempting to do a space walk outside of the International Space Station. In this movie, Cruise is set to essay the role of a down-on-his-luck man who is the sole person in the position to save Earth. Apart from starring in the film, he is attached to the project as a writer as well as a producer.

3. Live Die Repeat and Repeat (TBA)

A sequel to the 2014 movie ‘Edge of Tomorrow,’ ‘Live Die Repeat and Repeat’ is an upcoming science fiction film that will reportedly reunite Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman, with the former set to reprise his role as Major William Cage. Moreover, Emily Blunt is also rumored to portray Rita again, alongside Cruise. Ever since the release of the hit original film, talks of a sequel have been flying around. However, in 2019, it was finally set in motion when Matthew Robinson was brought on to write the script.

Fast forward to a couple of years later, in a May 2021 interview with Entertainment Weekly , Emily Blunt revealed, “That was an amazing script, but I just don’t know what the future holds for it. I did read a script that was in really great shape, but it’s just a matter of if that can even happen now. I don’t have the straight answer on that one.” With the project still lingering in the development stage, it is hard to expect it to be brought to life in at least a couple of years.

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Top Gun: Maverick is back in theaters for Rotten Tomatoes’ 25th anniversary screening series at AMC — get tickets now !

From his teen idol days in the early ’80s to his status as a marquee-lighting leading man today, Tom Cruise has consistently done it all for decades — he’s completed impossible missions, learned about Wapner time in Rain Man , driven the highway to the danger zone in Top Gun , and done wonders for Bob Seger’s royalty statements in Risky Business , to offer just a few examples. Mr. Cruise is one of the few honest-to-goodness film stars left in the Hollywood firmament, so whether you’re a hardcore fan or just interested in a refresher course on his filmography, we’re here to take a fond look back at a truly impressive career and rank all Tom Cruise movies.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) 97%

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) 96%

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) 96%

Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015) 94%

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011) 93%

Risky Business (1983) 92%

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) 91%

Minority Report (2002) 89%

Rain Man (1988) 88%

The Color of Money (1986) 88%

Collateral (2004) 86%

Born on the Fourth of July (1989) 84%

American Made (2017) 85%

A Few Good Men (1992) 84%

Jerry Maguire (1996) 84%

Magnolia (1999) 82%

Tropic Thunder (2008) 82%

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) 75%

The Firm (1993) 76%

War of the Worlds (2005) 76%

Mission: Impossible III (2006) 71%

The Outsiders (1983) 70%

Taps (1981) 68%

Mission: Impossible (1996) 66%

The Last Samurai (2003) 66%

Interview With the Vampire (1994) 63%

Jack Reacher (2012) 64%

All the Right Moves (1983) 61%

Valkyrie (2008) 62%

Top Gun (1986) 57%

Mission: Impossible II (2000) 56%

Oblivion (2013) 54%

Knight and Day (2010) 52%

Far and Away (1992) 50%

Rock of Ages (2012) 42%

Vanilla Sky (2001) 43%

Legend (1985) 41%

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016) 38%

Days of Thunder (1990) 38%

Lions for Lambs (2007) 27%

Losin' It (1982) 18%

The Mummy (2017) 15%

Cocktail (1988) 9%

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Review: Tom Cruise is out to save the movies. Is ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ enough?

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It begins with a plunge into the icy deep, where a submarine is menaced by an invisible threat — a scene that induces shivery memories of “The Hunt for Red October” and “Das Boot” (and also triggers inevitable thoughts of a certain ill-fated submersible ). Then it shifts to a hot orange desert, billed as Arabia though it might as well be Arrakis , where a dust-storm pursuit gives way to some tricky sleight-of-sand. Ludicrously entertaining and even more ludicrously titled, “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” doesn’t just rack up the miles in style. Like so many globe-trotting thrillers and big-screen tourist brochures, it’s also a gleaming advertisement for Hollywood itself, a celebration and a reminder of how profoundly the movies have shaped our views of the world.

The task of saving that world once again falls to Ethan Hunt, a.k.a. Tom Cruise — and if the world can’t be saved, well, maybe at least the movies can. Or can they? Even if not, just try and stop Cruise, now 61, from taking the weight of the entire industry on his shoulders. His gargantuan cine-savior complex was apparent back in 2020, when he railed against COVID protocol violators on the U.K. set of “Dead Reckoning Part One,” captured in an audio recording that did not exactly self-destruct in five seconds. If the rant was overblown, this actor-producer is hardly alone in having bought into his own mythos: Earlier this year, Cruise was praised by none other than Steven Spielberg for having single-handedly “saved Hollywood’s ass” with the stunning success of “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Now, on the eve of this seventh “M:I” caper’s release, Cruise is playing the familiar role of the exhibitors’ evangelist, urging audiences on social media to seek out some of the summer’s biggest titles ( “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer”) in theaters. The cross-studio solidarity is touching; it also reflects some of the industry’s deep existential anxieties around moviemaking and moviegoing. No single picture, no matter how successful, is going to lay those anxieties to rest, though “Dead Reckoning Part One,” with its queasily apocalyptic stakes and enjoyably kinked-up plot, at least seems to be in conversation with some of the underlying issues. Is it a coincidence that this time around, the movie’s big bad villain is artificial intelligence?

That would be something called the “Entity” — no, not the horror-movie incubus that menaced Barbara Hershey back in 1982, but rather a frighteningly self-aware robo-weapon powerful enough to bring data systems, economies and entire nations to their knees. Ethan and his loyal Impossible Mission Force gizmo experts, Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), are tasked with neutralizing this threat before it falls into the hands of the wrong country — which, as the movie cynically asserts, pretty much means any country. Fortunately, the Entity hasn’t reached Skynet levels of techno-malevolence yet; presumably that’s still to come in “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two,” due out in theaters next year. For now, AI proves a frustratingly elusive phantom, one that acts primarily through a powerful human emissary, more devilish than angelic, named Gabriel (Esai Morales).

Flashbacks shed light on Gabriel and Ethan’s ugly, not always compelling history, which involves a confrontation, a betrayal and, surprise surprise, a beautiful dead woman. She’s a throwback to the many beautiful dead women from Ethan’s past, including three of his doomed IMF colleagues (played by Kristin Scott Thomas, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė and Emmanuelle Béart) from the Brian De Palma-directed first “Mission: Impossible” feature (1996). Christopher McQuarrie, who directed the series’ two previous movies ( “Rogue Nation” and “Fallout” ) as well as both halves of “Dead Reckoning,” has a more restrained, less operatic visual style than De Palma (which could be said of most filmmakers). But in many respects he’s paying tribute to that 1996 caper, not only by staging a doozy of a runaway-train sequence, but also by reintroducing Ethan’s old IMF nemesis Eugene Kittridge, played once again by a banally sinister Henry Czerny.

Kittridge’s return can’t help but serve as a marker of how far Ethan, Cruise himself and this ever-durable series have come over nearly 30 years. It also suggests that the IMF, the utterly vital, eternally disavowable, brutally underloved bastard child of American intelligence, may not survive this latest and severest test of its abilities and resources. The “Dead” in the movie’s title certainly doesn’t bode well for anyone on-screen; neither does Ethan’s unnerving habit of reminding his closest colleagues that their survival means more to him than his own life. The sentiment may be cheesy, to the point where you half expect Ethan to pull off his latex mask and reveal Vin Diesel underneath. But it also reminds you that the “Mission: Impossible” movie franchise began with Ethan being framed for his teammates’ coolly premeditated murders, a formative trauma that he has never fully shaken off.

For the record:

10:50 a.m. July 5, 2023 An earlier version of this review said Tom Cruise’s character maneuvered a yellow Beetle through the streets of Rome in one scene. It was a yellow Fiat.

It’s enough to make you fear for Ethan’s closest allies, among them Luther, Benji and the always-on-the-run Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), all of whom are put in varying degrees of escalating danger as the typically serpentine narrative leaps from one spectacular piece of on-location fight choreography to the next. Notably, Ethan also finds himself a new sparring partner named Grace (a terrific Hayley Atwell), a wily thief who first pops up during an undercover operation at the Abu Dhabi airport before taking Ethan on a harrowing, sometimes hilarious ride (by yellow Fiat) through the streets of Rome. That Italian escapade soon leads to another in spooky nighttime Venice, where, in tight alleys and on haunted canals, the combat takes on a murderous close-quarters intimacy.

The quality of the action here is, for the most part, more fluid and satisfying than jaw-dropping; there’s nothing here to rival De Palma’s snazziest set pieces, or Ethan’s vertiginous climb up the walls of the Burj Khalifa in “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” (2011), or his men’s room demolition derby in 2018’s “Fallout.” But McQuarrie’s typically fastidious writing (undertaken this time with Erik Jendresen) makes up for whatever his direction may lack in sheer verve. And he does pull off one major cinematic coup: a triumphantly visceral, spatially disorienting, pull-out-the-stops ripsnorter of a climax that seems designed to ensure that no one dares set a movie aboard the Orient Express ever again, for fear of inviting unfavorable comparisons.

There’s more to the story, of course, which, though relatively fleeting at 163 minutes, feels generously overstuffed for a first-parter. I haven’t yet mentioned Pom Klementieff’s role as Paris, a lethally lithe newcomer of mysterious motives, killer threads and very few words. Or Vanessa Kirby, who, reprising her “Fallout” role as a ruthless arms dealer, has only to sit in a train car with a smartphone to deliver the movie’s single most impressive performance.

Maybe that’s unfair to Cruise, who once again suffers for our pleasure like no one else, hurling himself and his motorcycle from great heights, fighting in claustrophobically tight spaces and, yes, running and running and running some more. For all that, he knows how to temper his usual superhuman self-seriousness with lightness and wit. He’s even gracious enough to cede some of the spotlight to his co-stars this time around, spending a fair chunk of the movie’s endgame amusingly on the sidelines. He returns for the big-bang finish, of course, in a spirit of goofy optimism and eternal vigilance. “Dead Reckoning Part One” ends on his watch, but the movies will not.

‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One’

Rating: PG-13, for intense sequences of violence and action, some language and suggestive material

Running time: 2 hours, 43 minutes

Playing: Starts July 12 in general release

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Tom cruise in ‘top gun: maverick’: film review.

The ace fighter pilot returns 36 years after first feeling the need for speed in Joseph Kosinski’s sequel, also starring Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly and Jon Hamm.

By David Rooney

David Rooney

Chief Film Critic

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As inescapable a pop-cultural totem as 1986’s Top Gun became, Tony Scott’s testosterone-powered blockbuster has all the narrative complexity of a music video crossed with a military recruitment reel. It’s hard to think of many more emblematic products of the rah-rah patriotism of the Reagan years, with its vigorous salute to American exceptionalism and triumph over a Cold War enemy left purposely vague — hey, don’t want to shut out a lucrative foreign market.

All that has only continued to toxify in the post-Trump age, with patriotism curdling into white supremacy. So depending on where you sit on the political spectrum, your enjoyment of Top Gun: Maverick might depend on how much you’re willing to shut out the real world and surrender to movie-star magic.

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Venue : Cannes Film Festival (Out of Competition) Release date : Friday, May 27 Cast : Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis Director : Joseph Kosinski Screenwriters : Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie

Which this superior sequel — directed with virtuoso technical skill, propulsive pacing and edge-of-your-seat flying sequences by Joseph Kosinski — has in abundance. Every frame of Tom Cruise ’s Maverick is here to remind you, soaking up the awestruck admiration of the young hot shots ready to dismiss him as a fossil and the initially begrudging respect of the military brass who try and fail to pull the cocky individualist into line. “He’s the fastest man alive,” one of the slack-jawed hero worshippers in the control room says early on. And that’s even before he does his signature robotic “Cruise Run.”

“It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,” we hear more than once. And Cruise leaves no question that he’s the pilot, despite hiring a pro craft team and a solid ensemble cast who were put through extensive flight training. Even the relic F-14 Tomcat, Maverick’s tactical fighter plane of choice in the first movie, gets fired up for a glory lap, a salute to aged movie stars and old technology in one. Cruise’s character is somehow positioned by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie’s screenplay as simultaneously a rule-breaking rebel and a selfless saint. That makes this a work of breathtaking egomania outdone only by the fawning tone of Paramount’s press notes.

Starting when Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” accompanies footage of new-generation F-18 hornets slicing through the clouds and swooping down onto an aircraft carrier amid a sea of high-fives, fist-pumps and thumbs-up, the sequel follows the original beat for beat, to a degree that’s almost comical. And yet, as formulaic as it is, there’s no denying that it delivers in terms of both nostalgia and reinvention. Mainstream audiences will be happily airborne, especially the countless dads who loved Top Gun and will eagerly want to share this fresh shot of adrenaline with their sons.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell lives alone in a Mojave Desert hangar with a photo shrine on the wall to his former radar intercept officer and best buddy Goose, who died during a training accident in the first film. (Anthony Edwards and Meg Ryan are seen in a helpful recap framed as Pete’s tortured memories.)

Maverick zooms into the Naval base on his Kawasaki each day and continues to get his kicks as a daredevil test pilot, resisting the advancement in rank from captain that would have grounded him by now. But when his aerial showboating pisses off Admiral Cain (Ed Harris), who’s pushing to transition to drone aircrafts and make stick jockeys obsolete, Maverick gets his wings clipped.

Despite having lasted just two months as an instructor almost 30 years ago, he’s reassigned to the elite Fighter Weapons School, aka Top Gun Academy, in San Diego, which was established in 1969 to train the top 1 percent of Naval aviators. Neither Cain nor the academy’s senior officer, call sign “Cyclone” ( Jon Hamm ), wanted him for the job. But Maverick’s former rival and eventual wingman Iceman (Val Kilmer), who went on to become an admiral and command the U.S. Pacific Fleet, convinced them he was the only man who could prepare pilots for a top-secret mission.

A uranium enrichment plant has been detected on enemy soil — once again, exactly which enemy is unclear — and two pairs of F-18s need to sneak in, bomb the bejesus out of it and then get out fast, overcoming a near-impossible quick climb over rocky peaks and then surviving the inevitable blast of enemy missiles and aerial dogfights.

The candidates for that mission are “the best of the best,” former star graduates who are pretty much a repeat of the 1986 bunch aside from being more culturally diverse. There’s even — gasp! — a woman, Phoenix (Monica Barbaro). The two that matter most, though, are swaggering blowhard Hangman (Glen Powell) and Goose’s son Rooster ( Miles Teller ), still carrying around the ghost of his father and hostile to Maverick for stalling his career by taking his name off the Naval Academy list.

The Hangman-Rooster dynamic more or less mirrors the Iceman-Maverick friction from Top Gun , just as the incongruously homoerotic shirtless volleyball scene is echoed here with a rowdy team-building football game on the beach.

The only notable place where the screenwriters don’t genuflect to the original model is with Kelly McGillis’ astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor Charlie, who declined a plum Washington job to stick with her man but doesn’t even rate a mention here. Instead, Maverick sparks up an old romance with Penny ( Jennifer Connelly ), a single mom with fabulous highlights. She runs a local bar — its name, The Hard Deck, doubles as a tactical plot point — which apparently puts her in an income bracket to own a sleek sailboat and drive a Porsche. (Producer Jerry Bruckheimer never met a power vehicle he didn’t love.)

Maverick’s task during training is to test the limits of the super-competitive candidates, whittling them down from 12 to six and choosing a team leader. “It’s not what I am. It’s who I am,” he says of his aviator vocation during a rare moment of self-doubt. “How do I teach that?” Anyone failing to guess who’ll land the team leader spot and who’ll be their wingman isn’t paying attention.

The simmering conflict between Maverick and Rooster — who can’t see past his resentment to perceive the protective responsibility his dad’s friend feels toward him — provides an emotional core even if the role makes scant demands on Teller’s range. But that’s true also of Connelly, Hamm and everyone else in the cast; all of them get the job done while remaining satellites that merely orbit around Cruise’s glittering Planet Alpha, eventually having to acknowledge that Maverick’s a helluva guy no matter what stunts he pulls.

The film’s most moving element comes during the brief screen time of Kilmer’s Iceman, whose health issues reflect those suffered by the actor in real life, generating resonant pathos. There’s reciprocal warmth, even love, in a scene between Iceman and Maverick that acknowledges the characters’ hard-won bond as well as the rivalry that preceded it, with gentle humor.

Kosinski (who directed Cruise in Oblivion ), the writers and editor Eddie Hamilton keep a close eye on the balance between interpersonal drama and flight maneuvers; scenes intercut between field practice and classroom discussions during which Maverick points out fatal errors on a computer simulator are particularly sharp. This is all nuts-and-bolts buildup, however, to the mission itself, in which hair-raising action, seemingly insurmountable setbacks and miraculous saves keep the tension pumped.

This is definitely a film that benefits from the Imax experience and the big-ass soundscape that comes with it. The muscular score by Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer also pulls its weight, with Gaga’s song, “Hold My Hand,” getting prime romantic placement. Musical choices elsewhere tend to lean into a retro vibe — Bowie, T. Rex, Foghat, The Who — while Teller gets to hammer the piano keys and lead a Jerry Lee Lewis sing-along that pays direct homage to his screen dad.

The most memorable part of Top Gun: Maverick — and the scenes that will make new generations swell with pride and adulation for good old American heroism — are the dogfights and tactical maneuvers of the pilots. Just as they should be. The best thing this movie does is boost visceral analog action over the usual numbing bombardment of CG fakery, a choice fortified by having the actors in the airborne cockpits during shooting.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda’s work benefits from the technological advances of the past three decades, with camera rigs allowing for you-are-there verisimilitude. Cruise’s insistence on doing his own flying is undeniably impressive, even if the headgear’s breathing apparatus gets in the way of his trademark clenched-jaw intensity. No one is going to dispute that he works hard in this movie, justifying the labor of love. But no one is going to come out of it concerned for his self-esteem, either.

Full credits

Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Out of Competition) Distribution: Paramount Production companies: Skydance, Jerry Bruckheimer Films Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer Director: Joseph Kosinski Screenwriters: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie Story: Peter Craig, Justin Marks, based on characters created by Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr. Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison Executive producers: Tommy Harper, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson Director of photography: Claudio Miranda Production designer: Jeremy Hindle Costume designer: Marlene Stewart Music: Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer Editor: Eddie Hamilton Visual effects supervisor: Ryan Tudhope Aerial coordinator: Kevin LaRosa II Casting: Denise Chamian

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Tom Cruise working on three new movies with Mission: Impossible 7 director — including a musical

Cruise has his plate full following his blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick

We now have a pretty good idea of how Tom Cruise plans to follow up Top Gun: Maverick , beyond Mission: Impossible 7 and 8.

In an exclusive report, Deadline is stating that Cruise and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two director Christopher McQuarrie will be partnering up for a further three unannounced movies. These projects are pretty broad in scope, though the initial highlight is Cruise’s desire to follow up Rock of Ages with an original musical.

Of course, these projects will now go to the back of an already packed calendar for this summer’s biggest star. Cruise already has Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two coming out in each of the next two summers. Aka get ready for Cruise to take the title of summer blockbuster king for three years in a row.

Tom Cruise's three big new projects

Yes, Cruise is in fact working on a musical, or he is if Deadline’s reporting is to be believed. Cruise and McQuarrie are planning to develop an original song and dance-style musical. That means new IP, so there shouldn’t be any worries about a potential Top Gun: The Musical hitting the silver screen any time soon.

Not that Cruise doesn’t have the skills to lead in a musical. The actor trained successfully to be able to sing like a rock musician for Rock of Ages, so the expectations for this project shouldn’t be low. Plus, if Risky Business was any indication, we know he can dance.

The other two projects that are now rumored to be in the works are (shocker) another original action film with franchise potential to go along with Cruise’s other two action franchises, and a space-based film directed by Doug Liman, with McQuarrie producing. NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are going to be assisting, and it looks like Cruise's next project. 

There's also talk of a potential Tropic Thunder spinoff, but it may be one of the other projects. In Tropic Thunder, a comedy starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black, Cruise played Les Grossman, a producer with a penchant for dancing a bit and cursing — a lot. Cruise has been rumored to have been working on this project in the past, with Entertainment Weekly reporting on a potential movie as far back as 2010. As Deadline notes "It’s unclear if they will create a whole movie around Grossman, or borrow him for inclusion in either of the other vehicles." Either way, they want to revive the character.

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What other movies is Tom Cruise working on? 

Cruise should be able to quickly capitalize on the success of Top Gun: Maverick. Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is slated for a July 14, 2023 release and is already in post-production. The follow-up, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two is currently filming in the U.K. and will come out a year later. 

Cruise was recently spotted filming “speed flying” for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two. This is expected to be a new stunt to make all previous Tom Cruise stunts — well, they’ll still probably look awesome, but this one is supposed to be even crazier.

Deadline says that Universal is signed on to be the studio for the space-based project, which could end up being the most ambitious of Cruise’s career.

Malcolm McMillan is a senior writer for Tom's Guide, covering all the latest in streaming TV shows and movies. That means news, analysis, recommendations, reviews and more for just about anything you can watch, including sports! If it can be seen on a screen, he can write about it. Previously, Malcolm had been a staff writer for Tom's Guide for over a year, with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), A/V tech and VR headsets.

Before writing for Tom's Guide, Malcolm worked as a fantasy football analyst writing for several sites and also had a brief stint working for Microsoft selling laptops, Xbox products and even the ill-fated Windows phone. He is passionate about video games and sports, though both cause him to yell at the TV frequently. He proudly sports many tattoos, including an Arsenal tattoo, in honor of the team that causes him to yell at the TV the most.

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Movie Reviews

Tom cruise hangs on for dear life to his 'mission' to save the movies.

Justin Chang

Tom Cruise is back, and doing his own stunts, in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. Paramount Pictures and Skydance hide caption

Tom Cruise is back, and doing his own stunts, in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One.

For some time now, Tom Cruise has been on what feels like a one-man mission to save the movies. Back in 2020, when Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One was shooting in the U.K., Cruise was recorded screaming at crew members who'd violated COVID-19 lockdown protocols, all but claiming that the industry's future rested on their shoulders. Earlier this year, Steven Spielberg publicly praised Cruise for saving Hollywood with the smash success of Top Gun: Maverick .

Now, with the box office still struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels, Cruise has become a kind of evangelist for the theatergoing experience, urging audiences to buy tickets not just to his movie, but also to other big summer titles like Barbie and Oppenheimer .

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'mission: impossible' is back, but will you accept it, or will it self-destruct.

Cruise's save-the-movies spirit goes hand-in-hand with his self-styled reputation as the last of the great Hollywood stars. In this seventh Mission: Impossible movie, the now 61-year-old actor and producer still insists on risking life and limb for our viewing pleasure, doing his own outrageous stunts in action scenes that make only minimal use of CGI. And so we see Cruise's Ethan Hunt, an agent with the Impossible Missions Force, or IMF, tearing up the streets of Rome in a tiny yellow Fiat, riding a motorcycle off a cliff and — in the most astonishing sequence — hanging on for dear life after a deadly train derailment.

The plot that connects these sequences is preposterous, of course, but reasonably easy to follow. In an especially timely twist, the big villain this time around is AI — a self-aware techno-being referred to as the Entity. It's an invisible menace, everywhere and nowhere; it can wipe out data systems, control the flow of information and bring nations to their knees.

'Top Gun: Maverick' is ridiculous. It's also ridiculously entertaining

Hunt and his IMF team are determined to destroy the Entity before it becomes too powerful or falls into the wrong hands. But his old boss, Eugene Kittridge, played by the sinister Henry Czerny, warns Hunt to fall in line with the U.S. government, which wants to control the Entity and the new world order to come.

This is notably the first time we've seen Kittridge since Brian De Palma 's 1996 Mission: Impossible — the first and still, to my mind, the best movie in the series. That said, the director and co-writer Christopher McQuarrie has done a snazzy job with the most recent ones: Rogue Nation , Fallout and now Dead Reckoning Part One .

Coronavirus Updates

Sorry, tom cruise fans — new 'top gun' and 'mission impossible' movies delayed again.

Here, he seems to be paying sly tribute to that 1996 original, even evoking its horrific early setpiece in which Hunt watched helplessly as his IMF teammates were murdered, one by one. That trauma was formative; it explains why, in movie after movie, Hunt has repeatedly put his life on the line for his friends.

If you're kept up with the series, you'll recognize those friends here, including Hunt's fellow operatives played by Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson. You may also remember Vanessa Kirby , reprising her Fallout role as a ruthless arms broker and giving, in a single sequence, perhaps the movie's best performance. There are some intriguing new characters, too, including a wily thief, well played by Hayley Atwell, who draws Hunt into an extended game of cat-and-mouse. Pom Klementieff steals a few scenes as a mysterious assassin, as does Esai Morales as a glowering enemy from Hunt's past.

That's a lot of characters, double-crosses, chases, fights, escapes and explosions to keep track of. But even with a running time that pushes north of two-and-a-half hours — and this is just Part One — the movie never loses its grip. McQuarrie, a screenwriter first and foremost, paces the narrative beautifully, building and releasing tension at regular intervals.

Compared with the visual effects-heavy bombast of most Hollywood blockbusters, Dead Reckoning Part One feels like a marvel of old-school craftsmanship, just with niftier gadgets. Even Hunt wears his devil-may-care recklessness with surprising lightness and grace, spending much of the movie's third act on the sidelines and even playing some of his most daring escapades for laughs. Not that the actor doesn't take his mission seriously. I don't know if Tom Cruise can save the movies, but somehow, I never get tired of watching him try.

The Best Tom Cruise Movies Ranked: Where to Stream the Actor's 30 Greatest Films

Ghezal Amiri

Official JustWatch writer

Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s most successful actors, known for his daredevil commitment to performing his own stunts in some of the top action movies of all time. He has worked continuously in films since the early 80s, earning his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his role in Risky Business . If you want to stream the best Tom Cruise movies online, you can check out this complete streaming guide.

Tom Cruise's best movies: From Top Gun to Mission Impossible

Cruise’s most iconic role is arguably Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell in Top Gun , which was the highest grossing film of 1986 and took Cruise's fame to new heights. The movie was followed up with a sequel, Top Gun: Maverick,  nearly forty years later – which became Tom Cruise's highest grossing film with $1.4 billion at the box office.

Aside from his role as Maverick, Tom Cruise also stars as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible series. The first film,  Mission: Impossible , premiered in 1996 and the franchise is still ongoing with the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. Released in 2023, the movie was the first part of a two-act finale which will come to an end with Mission Impossible 8 .

Tom Cruise may be world-famous for his action movie franchises, but he also has plenty of dramatic roles in his filmography – having worked with directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson and Cameron Crowe. He is a four time Academy Award nominee, twice for Best Actor in Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire ; once for Best Supporting Actor in Magnolia ; and once for Best Picture for Top Gun: Maverick . He also has an Honorary Palme d’Or, the highest honor at Cannes Film Festival, and was awarded three Golden Globe Awards which he later returned to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in May 2021 due to their lack of diversity and various other controversies.

Where can I watch Tom Cruise's best movies online?

You can use JustWatch's streaming guide to find out where all of Tom Cruise's best movies are available in the United States. From his iconic franchises like Top Gun and Mission Impossible to his performances in dramas like Jerry Maguire, you'll find all the streaming details below.

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire used to be a typical sports agent: willing to do just about anything he could to get the biggest possible contracts for his clients, plus a nice commission for himself. Then, one day, he suddenly has second thoughts about what he's really doing. When he voices these doubts, he ends up losing his job and all of his clients, save Rod Tidwell, an egomaniacal football player.

An epic mosaic of many interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

A Few Good Men

When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.

Top Gun: Maverick

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet—eradicating 'The Syndicate', an International and highly-skilled rogue organization committed to destroying the IMF.

Born on the Fourth of July

Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.

Risky Business

Meet Joel Goodson, an industrious, college-bound 17-year-old and a responsible, trustworthy son. However, when his parents go away and leave him home alone in the wealthy Chicago suburbs with the Porsche at his disposal he quickly decides he has been good for too long and it is time to enjoy himself. After an unfortunate incident with the Porsche Joel must raise some cash, in a risky way.

When car dealer Charlie Babbitt learns that his estranged father has died, he returns home to Cincinnati, where he discovers that he has a savant older brother named Raymond and that his father's $3 million fortune is being left to the mental institution in which Raymond lives. Motivated by his father's money, Charlie checks Raymond out of the facility in order to return with him to Los Angeles. The brothers' cross-country trip ends up changing both their lives.

The Last Samurai

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt to stop him ends in an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF to be implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to disavow them. No longer being aided by the government, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks around the globe, although they might still be too late to stop a disaster.

Jack Reacher

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

Mission: Impossible

When Ethan Hunt, the leader of a crack espionage team whose perilous operation has gone awry with no explanation, discovers that a mole has penetrated the CIA, he's surprised to learn that he's the No. 1 suspect. To clear his name, Hunt now must ferret out the real double agent and, in the process, even the score.

Minority Report

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back

Jack Reacher returns to the headquarters of his old unit, only to find out he's now accused of a 16-year-old homicide.

The Color of Money

Former pool hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson decides he wants to return to the game by taking a pupil. He meets talented but green Vincent Lauria and proposes a partnership. As they tour pool halls, Eddie teaches Vincent the tricks of scamming, but he eventually grows frustrated with Vincent's showboat antics, leading to an argument and a falling-out. Eddie takes up playing again and soon crosses paths with Vincent as an opponent.

Mission: Impossible III

Retired from active duty, and training recruits for the Impossible Mission Force, agent Ethan Hunt faces the toughest foe of his career: Owen Davian, an international broker of arms and information, who is as cunning as he is ruthless. Davian emerges to threaten Hunt and all that he holds dear -- including the woman Hunt loves.

Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

War of the Worlds

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Producers Guild Awards honor 'Top Gun' Tom Cruise, give top prize to 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

LOS ANGELES – "Top Gun: Maverick" producer and star Tom Cruise was honored Saturday with a career achievement award at the 34th annual Producers Guild of America Awards.

However, the producers awards show bestowed the top prize of the night to  "Everything Everywhere All At Once," widening the sci-fi drama's lead as best picture front-runner.

The PGA is often seen as an Oscar bellwether. Eleven of the past 14 PGA winners have gone on to win best picture – meaning losing  the award  might have crushed the best picture hopes for "Top Gun: Maverick" at the Oscars on March 12.

How 'Top Gun: Maverick' can win best pic: The PGA is crucial

Tom Cruise is 'Top Gun' schmoozer: Academy calls Will Smith response 'inadequate'

Former Paramount CEO Sherry Lansing presented the David O. Selznick Achievement Award to Cruise, 60. Lansing recalled casting the actor for the 1981 drama "Taps."

"He had that magical undefinable quality called charisma.  Equally important, Tom had an incredible work ethic. Even then, he was always the first on the set, always well prepared and respectful to everyone," said Lansing. "Over 42 years later, despite phenomenal success, Tom Cruise is still that very same person."

Tom Cruise on making his dreams come true

Lansing greenlit 1996's "Mission: Impossible," the movie that began Cruise's producing career. As a studio head, Lansing admitted she was initially concerned that Cruise, already one of the biggest stars in the world, wanted to take on a movie version of the classic TV ensemble drama.

But Lansing's fears of diluting Cruise's star power with a movie ensemble disappeared when she read the first draft script Cruise sent over.

"I have to admit that I was delighted to find that in the very first few pages of the script, the entire 'Mission: Impossible' team is killed, except for Ethan Hunt, which is Tom's character," said Lansing. "And he spends the rest of the movie avenging their murders."

Cruise recalled his early days shooting "Taps" with Timothy Hutton and then-newcomer Sean Penn.

"I was certain this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life," Cruise said, recalling that he studied the movie-making process. "I was overwhelmed by what I didn’t know."

Tom Cruise thanks movie audience for 'Tom Gun: Maverick'

Cruise thanked Jerry Bruckheimer, his producer of the original 1986 “Top Gun” and his producing partner on the long-awaited sequel "Maverick."

"You opened the door for me," Cruise told Bruckheimer. "You welcomed me in and I will be grateful forever."

Cruise paid tribute to the producers in the ballroom along with mentors like Steven Spielberg and Lansing,

"You’ve all enabled me the adventurous life that I wanted,” he said.

Cruise has been lauded for fighting to keep the theatrical window for "Top Gun: Maverick" despite pandemic theater closures. At the PGA, Cruise gave thanks to movie audiences "for whom I work first and foremost. Thank you for letting me entertain you, and I promise I'll always do everything I can to accomplish that goal."

Other movies (and TV) honored by the PGA:

•  "Navalny" won for best documentary feature,
• “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,”  took best animated film.
• "Till" won the Stanley Kramer Award honoring a production or producer that illuminates and raises public awareness of important social issues.
• TV's “The Bear” won for best comedy.
• “The White Lotus” won for best drama.
• “Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls” won for best reality or competition series.
•  “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” won for non-fiction series, “The Dropout” won best limited series and “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” won best TV movie.
• Mindy Kaling received the Norman Lear Achievement Award in Television for her work producing shows including “The Mindy Project,” “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Never Have I Ever,” “Velma” and “The Office.”

TOM CRUISE is a global cultural icon who has made an immeasurable impact on cinema by creating some of the most memorable characters of all time. Having achieved extraordinary success as an actor, producer and philanthropist in a career spanning over three decades, Cruise is a three-time Oscar® nominee and three-time Golden Globe Award® winner whose films have earned over $10 billion in worldwide box office—an incomparable accomplishment. Eighteen of Cruise’s films have grossed over $100 million domestically, and a record 23 have made more than $200 million globally. His latest film, Mission: Impossible – Fallout has made over $775 million worldwide becoming Cruise’s most successful film to date.

Cruise has starred in numerous legendary films such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Risky Business, Minority Report, Interview with the Vampire, A Few Good Men, The Firm, Rain Man, Collateral, The Last Samurai, Edge of Tomorrow, The Color of Money and the Mission: Impossible series, among many others. Combined, the Mission: Impossible franchise has brought in over $3.5 billion since Cruise conceived the idea for a film adaptation of the classic television series and produced the first in 1996. He is currently in production on the long-awaited sequel to Top Gun.

A consummate filmmaker involved in all aspects of production, Cruise has proven his versatility with the films and roles he chooses. He has made 43 films, contributing in a producing role on many of them, and collaborated with a remarkable list of celebrated film directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Barry Levinson, Oliver Stone, Ron Howard, Rob Reiner, Sydney Pollack, Neil Jordan, Brian De Palma, Cameron Crowe, Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ed Zwick, Steven Spielberg, Michael Mann, J.J. Abrams, Robert Redford, Brad Bird, Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie.

Cruise received Academy Award® nominations for Best Actor for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire. He was a Best Supporting Actor nominee for Magnolia and won Golden Globes (Best Actor) for Born on the Fourth of July and Jerry Maguire, in addition to a Best Supporting Actor prize for Magnolia. He also received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Risky Business, A Few Good Men and The Last Samurai. Cruise has earned acting nominations and awards from BAFTA, the Screen Actors Guild, the Chicago Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review.

Cruise’s previous few films include the critically acclaimed American Made, The Mummy, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Oblivion and the suspense thriller Jack Reacher, which earned $218 million worldwide. Prior to that, he made a memorable appearance in Ben Stiller’s comedy smash Tropic Thunder, as the foul-mouthed Hollywood movie mogul Les Grossman. This performance, based on a character Cruise created, earned him praise from critics and audiences as well as his seventh Golden Globe nomination.

Cruise has been honored with tributes ranging from Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Man of the Year Award to the John Huston Award from the Artists Rights Foundation and the American Cinematheque Award for Distinguished Achievement in Film. In addition to his artistic contributions, Cruise has used his professional success as a vehicle for positive change, becoming an international advocate, activist and philanthropist in the fields of health, education and human rights. He has been honored by the Mentor LA organization for his work on behalf of the children of Los Angeles and around the world. In 2011 Cruise received the Simon Wiesenthal Humanitarian Award and the following year he received the Entertainment Icon Award from the Friars Club for his outstanding accomplishments in the entertainment industry and in the humanities. He is the fourth person to receive this honor after Douglas Fairbanks, Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. Empire magazine awarded Cruise its Legend of Our Lifetime Award in 2014. Most recently, Cruise was the first actor to receive The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation’s Pioneer of the Year Award in 2018.

• Top Gun: Maverick (2021)
• Mission: Impossible Fallout (2018)
• American Made (2017)
• The Mummy (2017)
• Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)
• Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation (2015)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Oblivion (2013)
• Jack Reacher (2012)
• Rock of Ages (2012)
• Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
• Knight and Day (2010)
• Valkyrie (2008)
• Tropic Thunder (2008)
• Lions for Lambs (2007)
• Mission: Impossible 3 (2006)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Collateral (2004)
• The Last Samurai (2003)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Vanilla Sky (2002)
• Mission: Impossible 2 (2001)
• Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
• Magnolia (1999)
• Jerry Maguire (1996)
• Mission: Impossible (1996)
• Interview with the Vampire (1994)
• The Firm (1993)
• A Few Good Men (1992)
• Far and Away (1992)
• Days of Thunder (1990)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Rain Man (1988)
• Cocktail (1988)
• The Color of Money (1986)
• Top Gun (1986)
• Legend (1985)
• Risky Business (1983)
• All the Right Moves (1983)
• The Outsiders (1983)
• Losin’ It (1983)
• Taps (1981)
• Endless Love (1981)

This 20-Year-Old Tom Cruise Movie Can Lay The Blueprint For His Future After Mission: Impossible

• Tom Cruise's action star status faces a challenge as he ages, so exploring villain roles could be the key to his future success after Mission: Impossible .
• A return to the character depth of his role in Collateral could provide Cruise with exciting new opportunities in his career.
• Practical stunt work sets Cruise apart in action films, but taking on antagonistic roles could help him stay relevant in the industry.

Tom Cruise has been a movie star for over forty years, and one of his most underrated films could be the key to the next phase of his career after Mission: Impossible . Cruise, in his most recent star era, has become synonymous with daring stunt work and large action set pieces in his blockbuster films. The two most notable examples are his long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, which is currently filming its eighth installment, and Top Gun: Maverick , which was the highest-grossing film of 2022 .

In many ways, Cruise is as popular as he's ever been and remains one of the last examples of a true movie star. There's just one issue he faces, and it's one that will only get worse with time: he's now in his 60s. He's still in amazing shape for his age and can still perform all the stunts his action roles require of him. Yet, at a certain point, Cruise just won't be able to physically accomplish these feats anymore, and the question will arise of what he will do to define the next era of his career.

10 Movies That Defined Tom Cruise's Career

Tom cruise should follow collateral's blueprint after mission: impossible.

The answer regarding a future after Mission: Impossible lies with one of Cruise's most memorable roles as the cold-blooded hitman Vincent in Michael Mann's Collateral . Collateral follows a single night in the life of cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx), who is forced to transport Vincent around L.A. as he crosses off targets on his hit list. The film doesn't just feature excellent action scenes but also a fascinating back-and-forth between the two leads. Many long exchanges of dialogue happen within Max's cab, and the audience sees him and Vincent argue philosophically about the value of human life and their differing ideologies.

Cruise had to train for Collateral since it was an unexpected role, as the actor had never played the main villain of a film before, and to this day hasn't done it again since. The uniqueness of this notion paid off, as Collateral proved to be a healthy hit. It grossed $220 million worldwide from an estimated $65 million budget (via Box Office Mojo ). Cruise's movie star charisma brought layers of charm to Vincent's sociopathic demeanor, and it is still widely considered one of the best performances of Cruise's long and illustrious career. A return to this type of role would be an exciting prospect for the actor.

Every Michael Mann Movie, Ranked Worst To Best

Villain roles can help tom cruise stay relevant.

As Cruise gets older, it'll become more challenging for him to remain at the center of these action franchises. Unlike films like Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny , which heavily relied on CGI to assist 81-year-old Harrison Ford with the action scenes, Cruise's movies use their practical stunt work as a selling point. Top Gun: Maverick had Cruise flying real jets , and Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One had him jumping off a massive cliff on a motorcycle. Too much CGI would cheapen the impact of these stunts, which have become a big part of Cruise's brand.

However, if Cruise takes on more antagonistic parts in movies like Collateral going forward, he could not only avoid putting his body at risk in as many huge stunts but also access an untapped well of potential film roles. Cruise would still be a selling point in whatever franchise he chooses to be a part of, and he'd be able to explore the darkness he displayed as Vincent all those years ago. It'd be an exciting development for fans to witness, full of possibilities, and could prove to be the key to Tom Cruise staying relevant through the 2020s and beyond.

Source: Box Office Mojo

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Birth Name: Thomas Cruise Mapother IV

Birth Place: Syracuse, New York, United States

Profession Actor, producer

Subject (person only)

Screenwriter, executive producer, production designer.

Screen Rant

New 83% horror movie is the perfect way to reboot the dark universe 7 years after tom cruise's failure.

The Dark Universe has the perfect opportunity to be rebooted thanks to a new horror movie that avoids the issues of Tom Cruise's previous failure.

• Abigail proves to be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe, focusing on strong characters and thrilling storytelling.
• The horror approach in Abigail sets up a potential reboot of the Dark Universe with R-rated, full-horror entries.
• While Abigail hints at the possibility of a new Dark Universe, its fate depends on box office success for future development.

Universal Pictures has the perfect way to reboot the Dark Universe years after Tom Cruise failed to do so thanks to its new vampire horror movie Abigail . The catalog of iconic horror characters at Universal's disposal put the studio in a position where it wanted to relaunch its Dark Universe for modern audiences. Tom Cruise's 2017 movie The Mummy was meant to be the start of a sprawling monster universe that included everyone from the Invisible Man to Frankenstein and Van Helsing. However, these hopes came to an abrupt end after The Mummy 's box office did not match expectations.

With Tom Cruise failing to relaunch the shared universe, the Dark Universe could not move forward, even after the studio infamously brought Cruise, Russell Crowe, Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, and Sofia Boutella together for a photo shoot to promote the cinematic universe. This left Universal in a position where it began reprioritizing individual horror movies involving monsters and supernatural creatures instead of worrying about setting up the Dark Universe . That has now led to Abigail , and the movie about a Dracula-esque vampire's daughter could now be what gets the Dark Universe up and running again.

Universal’s New Horror Movie Confirms Dracula’s Perfect Character Replacement After 127 Years

Abigail is a better starting point for a new dark universe than the mummy, tom cruise's movie was weighed down by universe plotting.

*Availability in US

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By the time that Abigail 's ending comes to a close, the movie proves how it could be the perfect reset for the Dark Universe. The film primarily focuses on the main story of survival as the people who kidnap Abigail try to avoid becoming her latest victims. With Radio Silence at the helm, Abigail is a thrilling and gory vampire film that introduces great new characters, including a revamped version of Dracula and his daughter. It is through this approach that the movie still manages to plant enough seeds that there is a greater mythology at play in Abigail 's universe .

The difference between Abigail and The Mummy is that the newer vampire flick is able to get audiences invested in this world and characters and leaves them wanting more. The Mummy was not able to do that. The film was weighed down by expectations that it would set up the Dark Universe. This meant including several moments that felt like they were only included to set up a larger franchise, like Russell Crowe's Dr. Henry Jekyll appearing. That distracted from the main story The Mummy was telling, leaving audiences without strong connections to Tom Cruise's character.

Abigail 's smaller focus and expectations gave it a major advantage over The Mummy . Abigail could work as a standalone vampire movie and still be a satisfying adventure without Joey and Abigail's story continuing. However, The Mummy was much too focused on being big enough and successful enough that the Dark Universe plans could come to fruition. The end result was The Mummy being maligned by critics and performing moderately at the box office, while Abigail 's Rotten Tomatoes score is incredibly high and word of mouth is strong.

Abigail's Horror Approach Would Be Great For The Dark Universe

The dark universe can be scary again.

One of the biggest benefits to Abigail launching the Dark Universe would be how it utilizes the horror genre. The film fully leans into the amount of scares and blood that should be in a vampire movie. The Radio Silence team are no strangers to reinventing horror franchises for modern audiences after their work on Scream , and they have done it again with Abigail . It might seem obvious that a vampire movie should embrace the horror genre, but that is not what the Dark Universe did before.

Even before The Mummy really tried to launch the Dark Universe, Universal's 2014 movie Dracula Untold attempted the same. The vampire movie had some tinges of horror, but the PG-13 movie leaned more into action when it could. The Mummy went a step further with that approach by utilizing Tom Cruise's greatest strengths to make the film a major action blockbuster, one that just happened to include supernatural creatures. Although none of the other canceled Dark Universe movies were made, it seems that Universal wanted PG-13 movies that skewed more action than horror to be made.

Abigail establishes the precedent for R-rated, full-horror entries in a potential new Dark Universe. After seeing how well it worked with vampires, Universal could apply the same approach to other characters. The studio already did so with Invisible Man in 2020, and the upcoming The Wolf Man reimagining could do the same. It would make sense for any other potential additions to a new Dark Universe would follow Radio Silence's lead with Abigail and give the iconic horror creatures the genre treatment they deserve.

Abigail's Shared Universe Teases Set Up How The Dark Universe Can Be Reborn

Other universal monsters could exist in abigail's universe.

There is already some groundwork for how Abigail could relaunch the Dark Universe thanks to the world it sets up. Abigail's father is designed as a stand-in for Dracula , and the movie includes enough teases that he is the proper version of the legendary vampire for Matthew Goode's character to take on that role in future installments. There are no other Universal Monsters who definitively or subtly are suggested to exist in Abigail 's universe. But, the movie does tease that Abigail and Ready or Not exist in the same universe , which could be key to a new Dark Universe beginning.

Abigail 's Ready or Not Easter egg is notable beyond the Radio Silence connection because it means that demons also exist in this world. The fact that demons and vampires are now confirmed to occupy the same franchise is a great way for Universal to get the Dark Universe off the ground. It now becomes easier to accept that other supernatural beings and characters exist in this world beyond vampires. This could be how Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Mummy, Invisible Man, and other classic Universal Monster characters are seamlessly introduced.

Will Universal Move Forward With Abigail's New Dark Universe?

Abigail was not intended to launch a shared universe.

Just because Abigail could be the start of a new Dark Universe doesn't mean that it will. The fate of the potential new horror franchise is undecided. Universal has not confirmed any plans for Abigail 2 to be made, nor that the film will directly connect to any other upcoming horror movies. The studio has learned from The Mummy and the previous attempt to launch the Dark Universe. Instead of announcing an entire slate of interconnected horror movies, Abigail is currently just another standalone movie. Abigail, her Dracula-inspired father , and Joey are all left with uncertain futures as a result.

If a new Dark Universe does start, Abigail 's box office is likely the key. The movie was made on a budget of $28 million, meaning it needs to make nearly $60 million at the box office to break even for Universal. It would only be at that point that the studio would probably consider continuing the franchise, let alone expanding it into a Dark Universe reboot. Considering Abigail has not even made its budget back at the box office worldwide, it is far from guaranteed that audiences will get a chance to return to this universe and watch it grow.

Abigail (2024)

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Breaking news, tom cruise ‘dumbfounded’ guests at victoria beckham’s 50th birthday bash with breakdancing and splits.

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It was a risky business. 

Tom Cruise, 61, reportedly stole the show with agile dance moves at Victoria Beckham’s 50th birthday bash, which happened in London on Saturday night. 

Cruise has reportedly been friends with Beckham and her husband, Inter Miami CF President David Beckham, 48, for two decades, and the “Mission: Impossible” star did a breakdance routine that wowed the A-list crowd. 

After a formal dinner at the private members club Oswald’s, over 100 guests hit the dance floor, where Cruise stunned guests.

There were no cameras allowed, but a source told the Daily Mail about the “Risky Business” star’s antics, “People were absolutely dumbfounded.” 

Other celeb guests included Gordon Ramsay, Eva Longoria, Salma Hayek, Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Guy Ritchie and all of the Beckham’s fellow former Spice Girls: Melanie “Mel B” Brown, Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell.

Cruise wasn’t the only dance star of the night — since all of the former Spice Girls reunited and did an impromptu performance of their 1997 single “Stop.” 

They busted out their signature dance moves from the iconic music video , as seen in footage shared by David Beckham via Instagram on Saturday.

“I mean come on x,” the retired soccer star captioned his post, tagging all five of the ladies and adding a series of heart emojis.

Fans quickly took to the comments section to weigh in on the epic moment, writing things like, “Is this the teaser for the reunion? Cause I’m here for it,” “Tour WHEN,” “We are all UNWELL” and “Thank you @davidbeckham for doing the lord’s work!”

Victoria re-shared the clip to her own page, calling her birthday soiree the “best night” ever. “Happy Birthday to me!” the fashion designer added. “I love you all so much! #SpiceUpYourLife.”

Victoria dressed to impress in a mint-green sleeveless gown with sparkling silver and gold bracelets on each wrist.

She accessorized with crutches , for her broken foot — a workout injury from February. But she was all smiles celebrating with famous pals, David and their four kids, Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 21, Cruz, 19, and Harper, 12.

Notably, Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham, 29, didn’t attend her mother-in-law’s party. 

She’s rumored to have a rocky relationship with Victoria, as they were allegedly feuding ahead of Peltz’s marriage to Brooklyn in April 2022.

“They can’t stand each other and don’t talk,” an insider close to the family previously told Page Six. “The build-up to the wedding was horrendous.”

Brooklyn has denied the rumors about an unhappy rapport between his wife and mom, telling Variety, “I’ve learned they’re always going to try to write stuff like that. They’re always going to try and put people down. But everyone gets along, which is good.” 

Victoria’s daughter-in-law took to her Instagram Story Saturday to share that she skipped out on the bash to spend time with her grandmother. 

“Happy Birthday to my beautiful MIL @victoriabeckham. I’m so sad I’m not there to celebrate you and hug you! Sending all my love from me and Naunni,” she said. 

Unfortunately, unlike the Spice Girls, party attendees have not posted footage of Cruise dancing, perhaps deciding that it’s too much of a risky business. 

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Richard Simmons Says Pauly Shore Biopic 'Does Not Have My Blessing' (Exclusive)

Simmons did suggest one actor who could play him though: Tom Cruise

 Monica Schipper/Getty; Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

The upcoming biopic Richard Simmons starring  Pauly Shore does not have the fitness expert's support.

"The Pauly Shore biopic does not have my blessing. Some major studios are interested with me being involved in MY story. Who should play me? Tom Cruise lol," Simmons, 75, speaking through his publicist Tom Estey, said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.

Simmons' latest comment follows a report from Deadline indicating that The Wolper Organization tapped Jordan Allen-Dutton to pen the film's script.

The health guru echoed the same sentiments in a Facebook post on Wednesday, April 24.

"I just read that a man that I don’t know is writing my bio pic starring Pauly Shore," he wrote. "I do not approve this movie. I am in talks with major studios to create my own bio pic with some help. Wait for this movie."

Shore's casting in the project was announced in January , amid the Sundance Film Festival premiere of his short film  The Court Jester , in which he plays Simmons.

John Salangsang/Variety via Getty

“I’m really excited about sharing Richard Simmons’ life with the world. We all need this biopic now more than ever,” Shore, 56, said of the film in a statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter . "Simmons represented mental health, getting people in shape and being his authentic silly self! Whenever he was on TV you could never take your eyes off of him and he brought such a joy to his appearances that represented nothing but a good time."

Simmons quickly responded to the news in a Facebook post , stating, " I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.”

In a September 2023 conversation with PEOPLE, Shore opened up about why "a Richard Simmons movie could unite America."

Picture Perfect/Shutterstock

"He helped so many people. If you read people talking about him, they'd always be like, 'I was 400 pounds and Richard Simmons saved my life!' He was all about positivity and helping people. And there's so much angst and divisiveness in the world, so I think a dose of that positivity is what people need," said Shore.

The actor said the two have "parallels that make sense."

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"There's also joy we both have and love to share, and a flamboyancy. We're both very physical, we're both over the top and silly," he told PEOPLE.

In March, Simmons said he was diagnosed with skin cancer in two emotional Facebook posts . He later said he was diagnosed "many years ago," and shared his story now to inspire others to get checked out by their doctors.

"I have had a tremendous amount of responses on my message regarding skin cancer," Simmons wrote on March 20 . "It happened so many years ago. The reason I wrote these two messages is that if you see a spot on your body please go to your doctor …so they can diagnose it right away."

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Tom Cruise Movies List

• Movies or TV
• IMDb Rating
• In Theaters
• Release Year

1. Endless Love (1981)

R | 116 min | Drama, Romance

Parental disapproval of a passionate romance between two teenagers leads to arguments, circumstance, insanity and tragedy.

Director: Franco Zeffirelli | Stars: Brooke Shields , Martin Hewitt , Shirley Knight , Don Murray

Votes: 9,575 | Gross: $31.18M

2. Taps (I) (1981)

PG | 126 min | Drama

Military cadets take extreme measures to ensure the future of their academy when its existence is threatened by local condo developers.

Director: Harold Becker | Stars: George C. Scott , Timothy Hutton , Ronny Cox , Sean Penn

Votes: 20,093 | Gross: $35.86M

3. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell , Matt Dillon , Ralph Macchio , Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,528 | Gross: $25.60M

4. Losin' It (1982)

R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama

Set in 1965, four rowdy teenage guys travel to Tijuana, Mexico for a night of partying when they are joined by a heartbroken housewife who is in town seeking a quick divorce.

Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jackie Earle Haley , John Stockwell , John P. Navin Jr.

Votes: 5,229 | Gross: $1.25M

5. All the Right Moves (1983)

R | 91 min | Drama, Romance, Sport

An ambitious young football star is trapped in a dying mill town--unless his gridiron skills can win him a way out.

Director: Michael Chapman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Lea Thompson , Craig T. Nelson , Charles Cioffi

Votes: 20,396 | Gross: $17.23M

6. Risky Business (1983)

R | 99 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A Chicago teenager is looking for fun at home while his parents are away, but the situation quickly gets out of hand.

Director: Paul Brickman | Stars: Tom Cruise , Rebecca De Mornay , Joe Pantoliano , Richard Masur

Votes: 99,832 | Gross: $63.50M

7. Legend (1985)

PG | 94 min | Adventure, Fantasy, Romance

A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Mia Sara , Tim Curry , David Bennent

Votes: 72,477 | Gross: $15.50M

8. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Tim Robbins , Kelly McGillis , Val Kilmer

Votes: 502,556 | Gross: $179.80M

9. The Color of Money (1986)

R | 119 min | Drama, Sport

Fast Eddie Felson teaches a cocky but immensely talented protégé the ropes of pool hustling, which in turn inspires him to make an unlikely comeback.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Paul Newman , Tom Cruise , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Helen Shaver

Votes: 93,256 | Gross: $52.29M

10. Cocktail (1988)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

A talented New York City bartender takes a job at a bar in Jamaica and falls in love.

Director: Roger Donaldson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Brown , Elisabeth Shue , Lisa Banes

Votes: 91,856 | Gross: $78.22M

11. Rain Man (1988)

R | 133 min | Drama

After a selfish L.A. yuppie learns his estranged father left a fortune to an autistic-savant brother in Ohio that he didn't know existed, he absconds with his brother and sets out across the country, hoping to gain a larger inheritance.

Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Dustin Hoffman , Tom Cruise , Valeria Golino , Gerald R. Molen

Votes: 546,565 | Gross: $178.80M

12. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

The biography of Ron Kovic . Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bryan Larkin , Raymond J. Barry , Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,934 | Gross: $70.00M

13. Days of Thunder (1990)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, Sport

A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Robert Duvall , Randy Quaid

Votes: 96,404 | Gross: $82.67M

14. A Few Good Men (1992)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

Military lawyer Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee defends Marines accused of murder. They contend they were acting under orders.

Director: Rob Reiner | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jack Nicholson , Demi Moore , Kevin Bacon

Votes: 287,309 | Gross: $141.34M

15. The Firm (1993)

R | 154 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A young lawyer joins a prestigious law firm only to discover that it has a sinister dark side.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeanne Tripplehorn , Gene Hackman , Hal Holbrook

Votes: 147,688 | Gross: $158.35M

16. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.

Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise , Antonio Banderas , Kirsten Dunst

Votes: 347,452 | Gross: $105.26M

17. Mission: Impossible (1996)

PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

An American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.

Director: Brian De Palma | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny

Votes: 470,267 | Gross: $180.98M

18. Jerry Maguire (1996)

R | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cuba Gooding Jr. , Renée Zellweger , Kelly Preston

Votes: 287,017 | Gross: $153.95M

19. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

R | 159 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

A Manhattan doctor embarks on a bizarre, night-long odyssey after his wife's admission of unfulfilled longing.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Nicole Kidman , Todd Field , Sydney Pollack

Votes: 375,084 | Gross: $55.69M

20. Magnolia (1999)

R | 188 min | Drama

An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jason Robards , Julianne Moore , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 328,458 | Gross: $22.46M

21. Mission: Impossible II (2000)

PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt is sent to Sydney to find and destroy a genetically modified disease called "Chimera".

Director: John Woo | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dougray Scott , Thandiwe Newton , Ving Rhames

Votes: 377,664 | Gross: $215.41M

22. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)

Not Rated | 142 min | Documentary, Biography

The career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise .

Director: Jan Harlan | Stars: Katharina Kubrick , Malcolm McDowell , Stanley Kubrick , Barbara Kroner

Votes: 12,204

23. Vanilla Sky (2001)

R | 136 min | Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

A self-indulgent and vain publishing magnate finds his privileged life upended after a vehicular accident with a resentful lover.

Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Tom Cruise , Penélope Cruz , Cameron Diaz , Kurt Russell

Votes: 285,685 | Gross: $100.61M

24. Space Station 3D (2002)

Not Rated | 47 min | Documentary

From outer space countries don't exist.

Director: Toni Myers | Stars: Tom Cruise , James Arnold , Michael J. Bloomfield , Robert D. Cabana

Votes: 1,749 | Gross: $93.37M

25. Minority Report (2002)

PG-13 | 145 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

John works with the PreCrime police which stop crimes before they take place, with the help of three 'PreCogs' who can foresee crimes. Events ensue when John finds himself framed for a future murder.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Colin Farrell , Samantha Morton , Max von Sydow

Votes: 584,310 | Gross: $132.07M

26. Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)

PG-13 | 94 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

Upon learning that his father has been kidnapped, Austin Powers must travel to 1975 and defeat the aptly named villain Goldmember, who is working with Dr. Evil.

Director: Jay Roach | Stars: Mike Myers , Beyoncé , Seth Green , Michael York

Votes: 222,895 | Gross: $213.31M

27. The Last Samurai (2003)

R | 154 min | Action, Drama

Nathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.

Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Tom Cruise , Ken Watanabe , Billy Connolly , William Atherton

Votes: 471,057 | Gross: $111.11M

28. Collateral (2004)

R | 120 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jamie Foxx , Jada Pinkett Smith , Mark Ruffalo

Votes: 433,102 | Gross: $101.01M

29. War of the Worlds (2005)

PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

An alien invasion threatens the future of humanity. The catastrophic nightmare is depicted through the eyes of one American family fighting for survival.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Cruise , Dakota Fanning , Tim Robbins , Miranda Otto

Votes: 475,199 | Gross: $234.28M

30. Mission: Impossible III (2006)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

IMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.

Director: J.J. Abrams | Stars: Tom Cruise , Michelle Monaghan , Ving Rhames , Philip Seymour Hoffman

Votes: 390,709 | Gross: $134.03M

31. Lions for Lambs (2007)

R | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

Injuries sustained by two Army rangers behind enemy lines in Afghanistan set off a sequence of events involving a congressman, a journalist and a professor.

Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Tom Cruise , Meryl Streep , Robert Redford , Michael Peña

Votes: 52,702 | Gross: $15.00M

32. Valkyrie (2008)

PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller

A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise , Bill Nighy , Carice van Houten , Kenneth Branagh

Votes: 259,233 | Gross: $83.08M

33. Tropic Thunder (2008)

R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, War

Through a series of freak occurrences, a group of actors shooting a big-budget war movie are forced to become the soldiers they are portraying.

Director: Ben Stiller | Stars: Ben Stiller , Jack Black , Robert Downey Jr. , Jeff Kahn

Votes: 448,021 | Gross: $110.52M

34. Knight and Day (2010)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

A young woman gets mixed up with a disgraced spy who is trying to clear his name.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Tom Cruise , Cameron Diaz , Peter Sarsgaard , Jordi Mollà

Votes: 210,313 | Gross: $76.42M

35. Takers (2010)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Drama

A group of bank robbers find their multi-million dollar plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.

Director: John Luessenhop | Stars: Chris Brown , Hayden Christensen , Matt Dillon , Michael Ealy

Votes: 65,780 | Gross: $57.74M

36. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Tom Cruise , Jeremy Renner , Simon Pegg , Paula Patton

Votes: 528,409 | Gross: $209.40M

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The Tom Cruise Role That Was Written With Tom Hanks in Mind

A tale of two Toms.

The Big Picture

• Tom Cruise showed a surprisingly seasoned and thoughtful approach to his film choices in the 1990s, working with prestigious directors on risky projects.
• Cameron Crowe originally wrote the role of Jerry Maguire with Tom Hanks in mind, but Hanks declined, giving Cruise the opportunity to showcase vulnerability in his performance.
• Cruise's comedic vulnerability in films like Risky Business and All the Right Moves proved that he could handle romantic roles, and Jerry Maguire showcased his ability to deliver surprising and powerful moments in a rom-com setting.

Tom Cruise is most closely associated with the action genre these days due to the success of Top Gun and Mission: Impossible , but in the 1990s, it seemed like he made it a goal to work with nearly every great filmmaker on a prestige project. Between Sydney Pollack ’s The Firm , Rob Reiner ’s A Few Good Men , Neil Jordan ’s Interview with the Vampire , and Stanley Kubrick ’s Eyes Wide Shut , Cruise showed a surprising amount of discretion in the risky projects that he joined. Ironically, the role that earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor was Cameron Crowe ’s Jerry Maguire , which was a mainstream success and audience favorite. The film gave Cruise some of the most endearing, iconic, and hilarious moments of his entire filmography, but it wasn’t a role that was originally written with him in mind.

Jerry Maguire

Cameron crowe wrote ‘jerry maguire’ for tom hanks.

Crowe is among the foremost directors of romantic comedies, as his films tend to go beyond simply being crowd-pleasers to say something powerful about the nature of love, and what it means to be in a relationship. While he had proven his competence within the genre with the 1989 coming-of-age dramedy Say Anything and the ensemble project Singles , Jerry Maguire was arguably his most ambitious project to date. It was the type of film that relied upon an established movie star to show vulnerability, and Crowe had his sights set on which A-Lister he wanted in the role of the titular sports agent.

In 2017, Crowe told NBC Sports that the role “was originally written with Tom Hanks in mind,” and that he “had this wonderful conversation with Tom Hanks, and people were waiting in the next room for the answer.” Crowe found that he was “high on the Tom Hanks personality charisma.” However, Hanks was busy working on his directorial effort That Thing You Do! , and could not commit to Crowe’s project. Hanks would later joke that he “would like to think, however, that Tom Cruise owes me one dollar, and I’m still waiting for the check.”

Cruise was very complimentary of Hanks , stating that “as a fan of his, I would have been very interested to see what he would have done with that character.” However, Cruise was keen to note that he put significant effort into ensuring that the role could become his own. Cruise said that he “spent nine months with Cameron going back and forth developing” the characterization of Jerry. While the work that Cruise puts into the physical stunts within his action films is evident to anyone that watches them, the efforts he took to develop such a complex character were more subtle.

'Jerry Maguire' Lets Tom Cruise Get Vulnerable

On paper, Hanks seemed like a more obvious choice for the role. While he had a newfound prestige thanks to his back-to-back Academy Award wins for Best Actor in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump , he was still at his core a comedic actor that had shown his aptitude within the rom-com genre. Romantic comedies were huge in the ‘90s, but his collaborations with Meg Ryan in the films Joe Versus the Volcano , You’ve Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle were among the best. However, Hanks’ refusal gave Cruise the chance to give an uncharacteristically vulnerable performance that pushed him as an actor.

Tom Cruise Inspired Christian Bale's Performance in 'American Psycho'

Tom Cruise tends to take on drama roles and isn't generally associated with comedy, but he’s proven on more than one occasion that he’s much funnier than some of his fans might expect. Outside his iconic cameos in Tropic Thunder and Austin Powers in Goldmember , Cruise showed a comedic vulnerability in his early films Risky Business and All the Right Moves . In both films, he plays a teenager who bites off more than they can chew, and they end up making a lot of ill-advised decisions for the sake of what they perceive to be true love. These films showed that Cruise was willing to make himself the butt of a joke, and didn’t have the ego that he’s sometimes associated with. However, these skills were set aside in the immediate aftermath as Cruise focused on films with a more serious edge to them .

'Jerry Maguire' Is Proof That Tom Cruise Should Do More Romantic Movies

That level of vulnerability is something Hanks has utilized throughout his career, and a reason why his romantic comedies with Ryan are so endearing to this day. It makes perfect sense why he would have been someone that Crowe had in mind, but casting Cruise forced the Mission: Impossible star to show that same romantic vulnerability that had been absent in his filmography since the late 1980s. It was a choice that ended up making Jerry Maguire more surprising. Audiences would expect to see Hanks pouring out his heart to Renée Zellweger about how he feels, but seeing Cruise do it came as a shock, making the “you complete me” moment even more powerful.

When Jerry sets forth with his ambitious mission statement regarding his intentions for his company, it feels like his breakthrough will be accepted automatically, so it’s hilarious when his speech is met with a collective shrug from his co-workers. However, seeing Cruise descend into madness as Jerry digs himself deeper by ranting (and even stealing a fish) results in one of the funniest moments in the entire film. These sorts of physical gags are something that Hanks has done all the time, but Cruise had to show a wacky side of his personality that he hadn’t accessed since his adolescent roles.

Cruise continues to push the boundaries of his physicality as recently as 2023's Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One , and he’ll be doing the same thing for the next installment. However, Cruise is also 61 years old, and can’t be doing action films forever. Perhaps choosing to go back to the romantic comedy genre for the first time since Jerry Maguire would be the best choice for Cruise to prove that, even after all these years, he’s still one of the greatest movie stars in the world.

Jerry Maguire is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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Why Tom Cruise ‘absolutely dumbfounded’ guests at Victoria Beckham’s star-studded 50th birthday party

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Tom Cruise brought down the house at Victoria Beckham’s star-studded 50th birthday party .

The “Top Gun: Maverick” star, 61, “absolutely dumbfounded” guests Saturday night by breakdancing and doing splits, a fellow partygoer told the Daily Mail Monday.

Cruise, who has known Victoria and her husband, David Beckham, for nearly two decades, has been living in the UK while filming “Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two,” which is expected to hit theaters next year.

The “Risky Business” star was dressed to the nines for the occasion in a classic black tuxedo with a bow tie and shiny black shoes.

Cruise was far from the only A-lister who attended Victoria’s grand fête in London.

All of the fashion designer’s fellow Spice Girls — Melanie “Mel C” Chisholm, Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell and Melanie “Mel B” Brown — also showed up for the festivities.

The girl group even staged an impromptu reunion to perform their 1997 hit song “Stop” for the attendees.

Victoria had her party at the private members’ club Oswald’s and stunned in a celestial sheer mint gown featuring ruffled details along the hem.

The guest of honor arrived on crutches after breaking her foot during a workout earlier this year, but she did not let the injury stop her from going all out for her milestone birthday.

She was joined by her athlete husband, who was dressed in a tux, as well as their four children: sons Brooklyn, 25, Romeo, 21, and Cruz, 19, and daughter Harper, 12.

Other stars at the soirée included Gordon Ramsay and Eva Longoria.

Notably absent from the momentous occasion was Brooklyn’s wife, Nicola Peltz, who instead spent time with her grandmother .

The “Bates Motel” actress, 29, shared a photo with her grandma on her Instagram Story but also made sure to send her mother-in-law some birthday love.

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“Happy Birthday to my beautiful MIL @victoriabeckham,” she wrote in another Instagram Story. “I’m so sad I’m not there to celebrate you and hug you! Sending all my love from me and Naunni.”

Peltz and Victoria were rumored to have feuded during the former’s 2022 wedding to Brooklyn .

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They allegedly butted heads over wedding planning, and tensions were also high after the bride decided to wear a wedding gown not made by Victoria’s fashion house.

However, Peltz denied she had any beef with the former pop star and explained that she could not wear a dress by Victoria’s eponymous brand due to timing issues.

“I was going to and I really wanted to, and then a few months down the line, she realized that her atelier couldn’t do it, so then I had to pick another dress,” she  told Variety  at the time.

“She didn’t say ‘you can’t wear it;’ I didn’t say I didn’t want to wear it. That’s where it started, and then they ran with that.”

Brooklyn also  denied there was any bad blood between his wife and mom.

Victoria and Peltz appear to have mended their relationship, as they have posted sweet messages about each other on social media numerous times since.

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