At 62, Tom Cruise is proving that age is just a number, and not one that says when he needs to retire. With Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, seemingly the last movie for the franchise, (Simon Pegg even already reflected on his two decades playing the techie sidekick, Benji Dunn), it seems Cruise is still not done jumping off buildings.
Tom Cruise on Making Movies Past the Retirement Age
During the premiere of the eighth Mission: Impossible movie, The Hollywood Reporter asked Cruise about his previous statement. He said that he will continue with Ethan Hunt’s story until he reached Harrison Ford’s age. The actor and producer said, “I actually said I’m going to make movies into my 80s. Actually, I’m going to make them into my 100s.”
He added, “I will never stop. I will never stop doing action, I will never stop doing drama, comedy films — I’m excited.”
Pegg said that doing the stunts for the franchise and “watching Tom do that stunt where he jumped off the cliff” is fun and considers it “one of those jobs.” Cruise, on the other hand, admitted he can’t pick which of the experiences is more rewarding for him. He said, “There’s been so many levels of reward with the filmmakers that I’ve collaborated with, the crews, the people, the cultures that we’ve worked in.”
The Top Gun actor also shared that everything he learned and continues to learn “about storytelling, about life, about leadership, about character, and every aspect of filmmaking” has “been exceptional.” He also knows how fortunate he is to be able to make movies: “I love just making movies.”
What’s Next for Him?
Since he’s done doing Mission: Impossible films, he has time to pursue other franchises, say, the third Top Gun movie. He did say Top Gun 3 is happening: “Yeah, we’re thinking and talking about many different stories and what could we do and what’s possible. It took me 35 years to figure out ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ So, all of these things we’re working on, we’re discussing ‘Days of Thunder’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’”
Cruise just finished shooting a film with Alejandro Iñárritu, who did The Revenant. He also revealed that he and Christopher McQuarrie are always working on other movies. Quarrie directed four Mission: Impossible movies, including The Final Reckoning.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is scheduled for a theatrical release on May 23.
