The editor of Top Gun: Maverick says that Tom Cruise's stunts in Mission: Impossible 8 will be "historic." Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Part 1 and Part 2 were initially slated to film back-to-back, but the plan was altered due to pandemic delays. After main filming wrapped on Mission Impossible 7, production began on Mission Impossible 8 (with a short break in-between), gearing up for a delayed release in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Writer and director Christopher McQuarrie is helming both sequels, with star Tom Cruise back as superspy IMF agent Ethan Hunt, once again tackling a globe-spanning impossible mission with high-wire stunts performed largely by the actor himself.
While the first Mission: Impossible 7 trailer was released alongside Top Gun: Maverick's debut, it featured very little dialogue or context as to what the story would be about. However, the trailer did feature the host of actors involved in the film, including regulars like Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Ving Rhames, as well as Henry Czerny, Esai Morales, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Cary Elwes. It's been reported that these last two chapters of the Mission: Impossible franchise will serve as a send-off for Cruise's character, who will have played the character over the course of 28 years by the time Mission Impossible 8 releases.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, editor Eddie Hamilton talked about his work on the Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning sequels. While giving an update on the films' progress, Hamilton said that some of the stunts Cruise performs in Mission Impossible 8 are "historic." The editor spent three months in South Africa earlier this year, while Cruise filmed for the sequel's third act. Read his comments below:
"Again, collaborating with Tom [Cruise] and Chris McQuarrie every day on that sequence to keep evolving it and making it better and better and, I swear, some of the stuff he’s doing, I mean, it’s historic, man. I’m not exaggerating. You’re going to watch it and you’re going to go, y’know, Tom’s done it again. He has done it again. And, it is amazing to have a ringside seat to that stuff, honestly." Hamilton went on to liken some of the sequences in the film to the canyon scene in Top Gun: Maverick, saying, "There’s going to be some moments in Mission 8 where you have that same kind of, 'I can’t believe I’m seeing this' experience. Two years to go and you’ll see it."
Hamilton also confirmed that both Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 were still filming, so there is still work being done on the seventh chapter of the franchise, despite principal photography being complete. Cruise recently shared an update on the production of Mission Impossible 8 at the 2022 CinemaCon event. There, the star was seen attached to a biplane and being flown upside down; a stunt that will apparently be a part of Mission Impossible 8 in some capacity. Hamilton said that, while the films will be down to the wire in terms of meeting their new release dates, there will be no compromise on the quality of the action sequences and stunts, which Cruise is famous for. The editor teased that the Mission Impossible sequel will be "another extraordinary barnstorming moviegoing experience."
After the phenomenal success of Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick (for which Cruise also performed his own death-defying stunts), there's no denying that the hype will now grow even stronger for both Mission: Impossible 7 and 8. Having Maverick break box office records for Cruise is proof that the star is still a huge box office draw, making the next two chapters in the Mission: Impossible franchise incredibly well-timed. With Cruise continually pushing the limits from film to film, it sounds like Mission: Impossible 8's stunts may well provide the perfect finish for his tenure on the franchise, if it is indeed his final bow as Ethan Hunt.