Tom Cruise's forthcoming movie filmed in outer space could be the first of many. Cruise, who stars in and produces the Mission: Impossible movies, is no stranger to death-defying stunts and pushing the limits of action filmmaking. The announcement in May of 2020 that the actor planned to shoot a movie entirely in outer space, however, took this boundary-pushing to a new level.
In collaboration with NASA and Elon Musk's Space X, Cruise planned to make the very first narrative-driven feature film to be shot in orbit. Unfortunately for Cruise, Russia beat him to the punch, with Russian film crews having completed a 12-day shoot in October for an upcoming film called The Challenge. Cruise and director Doug Liman were originally expected to make the trip into space this past October, but delays have pushed the launch date to later this year, although it's not clear what Cruise's schedule looks like with production ongoing for Mission: Impossible 8.
Now, a new report from The Guardian reveals Cruise's upcoming space-based movie may actually be the first of many projects to be filmed in Earth's orbit. Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE), the company co-producing Cruise's upcoming film, has announced plans to create a production studio and sports arena in outer space with a planned completion date of December 2024. Dubbed SEE-1, the module will dock on Axiom Station, the commercial section of the International Space Station. Check out SEE's co-founders' comments below:
SEE-1 is an incredible opportunity for humanity to move into a different realm and start an exciting new chapter in space. It will provide a unique and accessible home for boundless entertainment possibilities in a venue packed with innovative infrastructure, which will unleash a new world of creativity. With worldwide leader Axiom Space building this cutting-edge, revolutionary facility, SEE-1 will provide not only the first, but also the supreme quality space structure enabling the expansion of the two trillion-dollar global entertainment industry into low-Earth orbit.
Although the results of this new venture won't be seen for several years, the move will open up a whole new host of entertainment possibilities. While Cruise will be the star of the second feature film to ever be shot in space, it's entirely possible that, in five or ten years, he will be only one of a number of movie stars to have filmed in Earth's orbit. The new facilities will also open up new opportunities for other types of content creators as well, not just movie stars.
It's not clear exactly how accessible these facilities will be and what types of people will be able to create content onboard SEE-1, but it's likely there's a very hefty price tag involved to make the trip. While the prospect of space-based content like Cruise's upcoming action-adventure film is intriguing, there's always the possibility that the novelty will wear off in a few years and that filming in space will be more of a gimmick rather than something that actually enhances the quality of the content being created there. That being said, this new venture is sure to be only the first step of many when it comes to exploring what space-based entertainment can offer, and the next five to ten years likely hold a number of exciting surprises for audiences around the world, including the release of Cruise's space adventure movie.
Source: The Guardian