After debuting last week at Cannes, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is continuing its journey around the world, premiering in New York on Sunday night.
The eighth film in the Mission: Impossible franchise, The Final Reckoning is being billed as the last go-around for Tom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt; Cruise confirmed as such on the red carpet, telling The Hollywood Reporter, “It’s the final! It’s not called ‘final’ for nothing.”
Two years ago, Cruise was quoted as saying he was inspired by 80-year-old Harrison Ford’s career and wanted to keep making Mission: Impossible films until he was Ford’s age. When THR asked about the quote and if his mind had been changed — since he’s currently 62 — Cruise noted, “I actually said I’m going to make movies into my 80s; actually, I’m going to make them into my 100s.”
“I will never stop. I will never stop doing action, I will never stop doing drama, comedy films — I’m excited,” he added.
Looking back on nearly 30 years of the Mission: Impossible franchise — which launched in 1996 — Cruise mused how he can’t pick out a most rewarding aspect of the experience because “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. Everything that I’ve learned and continue to learn about storytelling, about life, about leadership, about character and every aspect of filmmaking. It’s been exceptional, it really is exceptional. I feel very fortunate to be able to make the films that I make and I love it, I just making movies.”
And as for any traditions he does before taking on the film’s massive stunts, the star joked, “There’s a lot of pre-stunt rituals that keep me alive — it depends on what I’m doing and the amount of preparation I have to do. A lot of thought goes into it, and they are very complex and very interesting.”
The Final Reckoning also stars Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Pom Klementieff, Greg Tarzan Davis, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Charles Parnell, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Tramell Tillman and Katy O’Brian. Christopher McQuarrie is back in the directors chair for his fourth Mission: Impossible film, and at the premiere described his collaboration with Cruise, calling him, “The most giving, most game — he’s down for anything. Whether or not he understands something, he’s fully willing to jump into something, whether he feels it or not. He’s a great teacher and a great student.”
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits theaters Friday.
Neha Joy contributed to this report.
