WithHenry Cavilljoining the cast last week, things are ramping up for Paramount and Skydance Productions’Mission: Impossible 6, which is expected to begin filming in Paris this summer. The last two movies in thisMission: Impossiblefranchise have featured two of the biggest and craziest stunts in movie history, both performed byTom Cruisehimself, and while we’ll have to wait until next summer to see what stuntTom Cruiseand Co. have in store for fans, producerDavid Ellisonrecently teased that it will be the biggest yet. Here’s what the producer had to say about this epic stunt, during a recent interview at the SXSW Festival.
“We’re thrilled.Chrisis back, obviously, writing and directing afterRogue Nation. We could not be more excited about the characterHenry Cavill’s going to play. And I will say after the Burj [Khalifa] we thought it was going to be impossible to top that stunt, and thenTomdid the A380 for the plane. WhatTomis doing in this movie I believe will top anything that’s come before. It is absolutely unbelievable, he’s been training for a year. It is going to be, I believe, the most impressive and unbelievable thing thatTom Cruisehas done in a movie, and he has been working on it since right afterRogue Nationcame out. It’s gonna be mind-blowing.”
The entireMission: Impossible franchisehas a long history of death-defying stunts, from the exploding fish tank scene in the first movie that featured a whopping 16 tons of water, to Cruise’s rock-climbing scene at the beginning ofMission: Impossible IIand holding his breath underwater for a whopping six minutes for a sequence inMission: Impossible III. Collider caught up withDavid Ellisonat SXSW, who revealed thatTom Cruisekeeps upping the ante with these stunts because he always wants to keep the audience entertained.
“It all comes from the best place. It is all about entertaining an audience. Tom’s entire mantra for hanging on the side of the Burj Khalifa or the A380 or literally holding your breath for six minutes underwater to do the Taurus sequence is, in a world of massive [visual] effects, he said the audience can tell when it’s you on a green screen or when you’re actually doing it live. And the tension, because the stunt is real, actually puts the audience whereEthan Huntis where they are in the movie. He said that’s why he does it; it’s all about entertaining an audience and it makes the movie better.”
The aforementioned A380 scene inMission: Impossible Rogue Nationtook fans by surprise, since it was at the very beginning of the movie, while most of the major stunts in each of the previous movies are saved towards the end. When asked about where this new stunt will take place in the sequel, the producer wouldn’t say, but he did reveal that there are always conversations about where in the movie these stunts should be shown. Here’s what the producer had to say below.
“I cannot say forM:I 6, but onRogue Nationit was a conversation that was ongoing about whether or not it was in the opening or the middle of the movie. Obviously inGhost Protocolthere was a lot of conversation about should the Burj be at the end of the movie? Because it was obviously the biggest stunt in the film, and it really was just story drives everything. That’s the amazing thing about working with somebody who’s talented asChris McQuarrie, who is a brilliant, brilliant screenwriter as well as a director, is story drives every single decision.”
Along withTom Cruiseand franchise newcomerHenry Cavill, returning stars such asRebecca Ferguson,Simon PeggandJeremy Rennerare expected to return in some capacity, althoughJeremy Rennerhinted in November that there may be a conflict with his schedule onAvengers: Infinity Warand the currently-untitledAvengers sequel, which started shooting in January and is expected to film well into the fall, with both films shooting back-to-back. It also remains to be seen ifVing Rhames, who, likeTom Cruise, has starred in all fiveMission: Impossiblemovies, will be back as well.Mission: Impossible 6has been slated for release on July 16, 2025.
