Tom Cruise is going to space.
The popular actor of "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Mission: Impossible Fallout" fame could be going to the International Space Station (ISS) to shoot a new action movie directed by Doug Liman in the future.
Cruise is known for performing all of the stunts in the action movies he stars in, which includes flying a jet in "Top Gun: Maverick" and running down the Burj Khalifa in "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol," per People.com.
Tom Cruise Potential Spacewalk Details
Cruise is potentially set to be the first celebrity, let alone the first civilian, to ever do a spacewalk outside the ISS for a movie directed by Langley, the head of Universal Pictures, per a Variety report citing a recent BBC interview.
Donna Langley, the head of Universal Pictures, mentioned in the interview that the company has "a great project" in development with Cruise to do just that and more.
The character Cruise will portray in the film will reportedly be a down-on-his-luck guy who finds himself as the only one who can save Earth from something catastrophic. To do so, he may have to go to the ISS.
However, this spacewalk might be featured for a short duration as most of the movie will take place on Earth.
Meanwhile, Liman revealed that NASA and SpaceX signed on to the idea of taking Cruise to space and the ISS for the first-ever spacewalk done by a civilian and celebrity.
He also added that he became "just a little bit more receptive" after hearing that Universal Pictures, NASA, SpaceX, and Cruise were signing on to the idea.
Although the confirmation of Cruise going to the ISS and performing a spacewalk is new, the idea that Cruise will be going there isn't. CNET reports that NASA's former administrator, Jim Bridenstine, confirmed that NASA would work with Cruise to film a movie aboard the ISS.
"NASA is excited to work with Tom Cruise on a film aboard the Space Station!," Bridenstine said in a now-deleted tweet. Thankfully, a BBC report published in May 2020 managed to record it for posterity.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also expressed his excitement about the collaboration, saying it "should be a lot of fun!"
Despite NASA and SpaceX signing on the idea, it is unknown as of press time how Cruise will go to the ISS (along with Universal's crew, if needed). However, it could be speculated that the famous actor will go to the ISS through SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket.
Training To Be The First
Getting to the ISS will be difficult even for an action star like Cruise, Gizmodo said in its article. Despite his willingness to do all his stunts, the actor will have to undergo the same training the crew members of Polaris Dawn are currently going through to get the title of "the first civilian spacewalk in history."
The training to execute a spacewalk involves basic medical and scuba training, non-verbal communication and buddy support, and high performance & high consequence flying.
