Tom Cruise reveals which stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning nearly broke his back. Co-written and directed once again by Christopher McQuarrie, the eighth and potentially final Mission: Impossible film follows Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his IMF team pushing forward in their fight against the rogue AI called the Enтιтy, racing to stop it from wiping out humanity.

The Final Reckoning features a few of the greatest stunts that Cruise has ever attempted for the franchise, including Ethan diving into the sunken Sevastopol submarine, which required Cruise to hold his breath for extended takes. The Final Reckoning‘s ending sees Ethan fighting Gabriel midair on a biplane, one of the most breathtaking and dangerous stunts Cruise has ever performed.

In bonus features from the film’s digital release, Tom Cruise revealed that the biplane stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning “almost broke [his] back.” It was during the stage of the battle when Ethan jumped from his own aircraft onto Gabriel’s, clinging desperately to the wing. Of course, Cruise performed the high-alтιтude stunt himself.

During the film’s commentary, Cruise and McQuarrie also discussed when Ethan latches onto the seatbelt and hangs on as the plane flips entirely upside down, which “separated the joints in Tom’s fingers.” Moments later, Gabriel rolls the aircraft, sending Ethan, still gripping the belt, crashing against the side of the cabin, which was “brutal,” Cruise says. Read their full comments below:

Cruise: Oh, this almost broke my back.

McQuarrie​​​​​​​: You’re talking about a lot of pain here… Now watch this: The thing we haven’t talked about, holding on to this belt.

Cruise: Oh God, that was brutal.

McQuarrie: ​​​​​​​This separated the joints in Tom’s fingers from the force, so by the time we finished this sequence, your hands were absolutely swollen — oh my God, it was so painful to watch.

Cruise​​​​​​​: Oh, that was brutal. That hit, that was a hard one.

McQuarrie: ​​​​​​​And you improvised that, thank you very much. I appreciate that. You were like, “I think we’re gonna need that,” and I was like, “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

What This Means For Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 8 Biplane Stunt

The Final Reckoning‘s plane stunt is arguably the most breathtaking and dangerous stunt Tom Cruise has performed for Mission: Impossible. Cruise clung to parts of the biplane, performing intricate maneuvers like climbing from the fuselage onto the wings, all while soaring through the sky at 140 miles per hour and 8,000 feet in the air.

While the stunt posed some serious risks, Cruise and McQuarrie’s recent comments shed some additional light on just how dangerous it was. Not only did Cruise almost break his back jumping from plane to plane, clinging desperately to the wing, but hanging onto the seatbelt also separated the joints in his fingers, causing his hands to swell.

Our Take On Mission: Impossible 8’s Biplane Stunt

If The Final Reckoning really is the last Mission: Impossible movie, Tom Cruise will go out on top with one of the greatest stunts ever performed on screen. Though The Final Reckoning is now available on digital platforms, it’s a breathtaking sequence that really demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible, preferably in IMAX.

The immense risk and showstopping nature of the sequence solidifies it as the best stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the entire franchise, and arguably of all time.