In the years since Tom Cruise began pushing the limits of what it means to be an action star, he’s found no small amount of success in raising the bar to previously unimagined levels. Undoubtedly, the work that Cruise has done in the Mission: Impossible franchise in particular has amounted to some of the most visually spectacular stunt work in the history of cinema.
With a brand new reboot of Universal’s classic horror film The Mummy currently on its way, Cruise appears to once again have added his own touch of next level stunt work to a new project. So far the sole trailer we’ve seen from the film looks pretty action packed, but to exactly what extent that action is the result of real-life stunt work hasn’t been revealed. In fact, watching the trailer makes it easy to believe that what we’re seeing is little more than CG effects and camera magic. However, the latest news on at least one of The Mummy’s stunts tells a different story.
A new behind the scenes featurette released by Universal highlights a stunt seen in the trailer, where Tom Cruise and co-star Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders) are sent tumbling through the air inside a cargo plane. In the film the cause of the sudden chaos is very likely to do with the sarcophagus – which contains The Mummy - being transported from its homeland, but in real-life, the stunt was actually performed in zero gravity, on an aircraft specially designed for that purpose.
The plane, aptly named the Zero G, was home to a set that was created just for the film. In the video, Cruise explains that he’d had the idea of creating a zero gravity stunt for quite some time, but that the opportunity to try it hadn’t presented itself until now. The Zero G aircraft was originally designed as a training platform for astronauts taking part in the Apollo space missions, so the weightlessness it provides passengers is indeed very real. Cruise also states that there is no tricksy editing of the stunt to make sure that what audiences in theaters see is a stunt happening in real-time.
Whatever one’s opinion of Tom Cruise might be, there’s no denying that he is an actor who is always ready to push the envelope. It’s Cruise’s dedication to giving audiences something more thrilling than anything they’ve previously seen that makes him one of the greatest action stars working today. As an entry point into Universal’s extended monster film universe, The Mummy may or may not find success, but at the very least, it’s clear that Cruise gave it his all (as usual).
It’s also important to remember that this is just the first stunt from The Mummy that we’re getting an in depth look at. Considering that this is, after all, a Tom Cruise movie, there’s likely to be plenty more action and adventure to gawk at when the film arrives in June. And while stunt work alone doesn’t necessarily make for a hit film, it definitely helps to bring the excitement in what very well could be one of the big blockbusters of the summer movie season.
Source: YouTube
