Tom Cruise‘s upcoming thriller with Ana de Armas, Deep, has reportedly hit a setback over budgetary concerns. Both Cruise and de Armas are two of the biggest action stars of the moment, with the former leading up the Mission: Impossible franchise and the latter coming into her own with No Time to Die and Ballerina.

In fact, when Ballerina hit theaters back in June, Cruise was publicly supportive of the movie, which increased anticipation for his collaboration with de Armas. Deep is described as an undersea adventure and will be directed by Doug Liman, with Christopher McQuarrie providing rewrites to Max Landis’ script.

Deep is still fairly early in the production stages, but according to Puck, it’s already running into some major problems. The movie was set up at Warner Bros. and looking at a pricey $275 million budget. However, execs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy have reportedly told Cruise that amount is too high, as they refuse to go over $230 million.

Puck notes Cruise had already begun prepping for the film, and that Warners has already begun paying for the previsualization work. Nevertheless, Cruise’s team is now shopping Deep elsewhere, with Universal and other studios in the mix. Additionally, the actor is reportedly very dissatisfied with Warner Bros.

What This Means For Deep

The Big Budget Makes Sense, But So Does WB’s Concern

Cruise is known for his exacting filmmaking style. His attention to detail, intense respect for the theatrical experience, and dedication to performing practical, mind-boggling stunts himself has earned him both praise and criticism. When it comes to the latter, it is more so that some people are wary of working with him.

It seems likely that Deep will involve plenty of intense stuntwork and sizable paychecks for both Cruise and de Armas. Additionally, the underwater element will require CGI and carefully built-out sets. All of these elements combined indicate that this movie will need a hefty budget.

However, Warner Bros.’ hesitation is understandable. Larger budgets mean films need to earn way more money at the box office to be profitable, and that is getting increasingly harder for original movies to do. Just this summer, Cruise’s own Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has struggled to earn back its huge reported $400 million budget.

Considering his history, it seems unlikely that Cruise will be willing to back down when it comes to Deep‘s budget. Therefore, unless Warner Bros. caves, it seems the movie will need another studio if it wishes to get made at all.

Our Take On Deep’s Budget Woes

It Would Be A Shame If This Movie Never Got Made

Based on their action track record, and Cruise’s glowing Ballerina review, it would be incredibly exciting to see him and de Armas onscreen together. They would make a dynamic duo, and could even be an exciting enough pairing to bring audiences to the theater.

However, Warner Bros. has been especially concerned with finances in recent years, so this isn’t a positive sign for Deep. Hopefully, Cruise is able to find a way forward for the movie soon so it doesn’t languish in development hell.

Source: Puck