It’s been revealed that professionals thought one of Tom Cruise’s stunts in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning could not be done, but the franchise star still managed to pull it off. The eighth, and potentially final, entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise returns Cruise to his longtime role as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. Picking up after Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning‘s ending, the sequel explores Ethan’s mission to stop The Enтιтy once and for all. This will include a globe-trotting adventure filled with unbelievable, practical stunts the franchise and Cruise have built a reputation for delivering.

As part of a retrospective profile on GQ about franchise director/writer Christopher McQuarrie, he opened up about the making of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and some of the challenges they encountered. This included talking about the highly publicized biplane stunt featured prominently in the marketing campaign. This sequence includes Cruise wing walking – being on the wing of a flying plane. McQuarrie and Cruise met with professional wing walkers to discuss how they could do this stunt, but they told them it was impossible.

They said, ‘What do you want to do?’ And Tom said, ‘I want to be between the wings of the plane holding on to the tension wires, and I want to be in zero G between the wings.’ And wing walkers who do this for living said, ‘That will never happen. You can never do that.’ And Tom said, ‘All right, well, thank you very much for your time.’

This did not stop McQuarrie and Cruise from pursuing the wing walking plane stunt for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. They eventually found other wing walkers who managed to help them bring the stunt to life.

What This Means For Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Tom Cruise Literally Did The Impossible

Tom Cruise’s wing walking stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning already looked to be one of the more impressive ones he’s accomplished in the franchise. Clinging to a flying plane (or helicopter) is nothing new for the actor in this series, but the wing walking sequence is entirely fresh. The Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailers has done an excellent job of building up this sequence as one of the film’s best and showcasing the ways Cruise is willing to go to the extreme to entertain audiences.

Knowing this was initially a sequence Cruise and McQuarrie were told could not be done makes it more impressive. They are known for pushing Mission: Impossible‘s stunts to the extreme, but they always do that with safety in mind and professional guidance. It is more normal for their ideas to be deemed possible after some creative thinking and planning. This is a rare instance when professionals told them that Cruise’s idea could not be accomplished. They weren’t just talking about the impossibility of Cruise doing it himself, either. Professionals didn’t think anyone could do it, let alone film it.

Our Take On Tom Cruise Pulling Off The Final Reckoning’s Wing Walking Stunt

He Was Determined To Make It A Reality

The plane stunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has looked impressive from when its inclusion was teased during production. Every additional glimpse has only increased the awe-inducing nature of Cruise’s ambition. After watching the way he’s pulled off other seemingly impossible stunts before, this looked like another great addition to the franchise’s collection of thrilling sequences. I’m even more excited to see the full sequence now knowing that Cruise is doing something thought to be impossible by people who do wing walking for a living.

Cruise has always made sure to push himself to the limit to keep Mission: Impossible stunts new and fresh, ensuring that audiences are consistently wowed. He’s as determined as any star to do these stunts practically and show his unmatched will to make them possible. It’s one of the many reasons why Cruise and Mission: Impossible have been a perfect pairing. Should the biplane wing walking sequence be one of his last, Tom Cruise could go out on a high note with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s stunt.

Source: GQ