Director Christopher McQuarrie Hypes ‘Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,’ Says It Features “Outrageous” Aerial Sequence
John F. Trent
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Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One Director Christopher McQuarrie recently hyped up the film and specifically an aerial sequence in South Africa by describing it as “outrageous.”
Tom Cruise and Vanessa Kirby in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
McQuarrie spoke with Empire about the upcoming film and explained how they went to South Africa to film an intense aerial stunt.
The director said, “South Africa was intense. The aerial sequence is… It’s just outrageous.”
“The thing to remember as you’re watching [Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One] is that another monster waits behind it,” he teased.
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
Not only will the upcoming film feature this “outrageous” aerial stunt, but Tom Cruise made it clear that they plan to outdo it in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two.
He told Empire his mantra after every Mission: Impossible film is, “We can do better.”
And Cruise made it clear he follows it, “Since I was a young actor, people go, ‘Well, what do you do next?’ There’s always another mountain to climb. Always.”
Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
It’s unclear what exactly the stunt entails, but Cruise teased it back in December 2022. He appeared to be sitting on the edge of a helicopter or at least some kind of aerial vehicle and said, “Hey everyone! Here we are over stunning South Africa and were filming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Parts One and Two.”
He continued, “And I didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theaters and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”
A special message from the set of #MissionImpossible @MissionFilm pic.twitter.com/sfnWWluLyl
— Tom Cruise (@TomCruise) December 18, 2022
The camera then panned to McQuarrie who was sitting next to Cruise and informs they have to get going in order to get the shot. Cruise concurs and then falls out of the aerial vehicle backwards.
While falling he continued to thank moviegoers for going to the theaters and supporting Top Gun: Maverick. From there, the clip ends with Cruise spinning through the air as he descends towards a stunning beach in South Africa.
Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Rebecca Ferguson in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
It’s hard to imagine this stunt could top the one Paramount Pictures, Cruise, and McQuarrie have heavily promoted for the film. That stunt sees Cruise race a motorcycle off a Norwegian cliff and then base jump to the ground.
McQuarrie claimed in a video showing the lead-up to the stunt and the actual stunt performance that it was “far and away the most dangerous thing we’ve ever attempted.”
The film’s Second Unit Director and Stunt Coordinator Wade Eastwood detailed just how dangerous that stunt was, “The only things that you really have to avoid while doing a stunt like this is serious injury or death.”
He adds, “You’re riding a motorcycle, which is pretty dangerous, on top of a ramp that’s elevated off the ground so if you come off the ramp that’s going to be very bad.”
“You’re falling. If you don’t get a clean exit from the bike, and you get tangled up with it. If you don’t open your parachute, you’re not going to make it,” he relayed.
Cruise performed the stunt six times.
Tom Cruise plays Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
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The official description for Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One states, “Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.”
The movie arrives in theaters on July 12, 2023.
Hayley Atwell and Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning – Part One from Paramount Pictures and Skydance.
What kind of aerial stunt do you think Tom Cruise performed in South Africa?
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