What happens when Tom Cruise, directors Doug Liman and Christopher McQuarrie, and PJ van Sandwijk gather for a Zoom call?
It’s not a terrible punchline, that’s for sure. According to Deadline, it’s a pitch for a feature film set in outer space. Then there’s the eye-watering sum of $200 million from Universal Pictures to make the flick. Elon Musk and his company SpaceX, will also partner on the film, in a bid to launch Tom Cruise into space.
The true cost of a production set in space could be far more than Universal’s initial investment, considering the scale to which they want to shoot. Space has never been done before, and it’d be hardly surprising if it went on to break production cost records left, right and center.
Considering his history of death-defying stunts in previous films, if anyone was to undertake the challenge, Tom Cruise would.
Doug Liman, who previously worked with Cruise on Edge Of Tomorrow, is currently writing the script for the film, while McQuarrie, who is best known for his directorial work with Cruise on the Mission Impossible franchise, will produce.
In other Tom Cruise news, according to a report from The First News, the production team behind Mission Impossible 7 is seeking to destroy a section of a real-life bridge for an action sequence in the film. The bridge is located in a Polish village called Pilchowice. It’s been out of action since 2016, with locals calling for the bridge to be recognized as a national monument. Deputy Culture Minister Pawel Lewandowski objects, saying: “I would not be fixated on the fact that the Pilchowicki Bridge is a monument. It stands in ruins and has no value.” He adds that “if an object is unused, unavailable, it has no such value. Therefore it is not a monument.”
Mission: Impossible 7 is due on November 19, 2021, with Mission: Impossible 8 is expected for November 4, 2022.
