The trailer for Part 2 — also the final installment — of the series Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning will premiere during the 2025 Super Bowl, attracting millions of viewers.
Taking this opportunity, Tom Cruise revealed the death-defying stunts he performed in what is said to be the last Mission Impossible movie.
Specifically, he shared that at one point he didn’t have enough oxygen to breathe while filming a scene clinging to the side of a helicopter. The actor explained: “When you stick your face out of a helicopter flying at 120–130 miles per hour (around 200–210 km/h), naturally the oxygen can’t get into your lungs. So I had to train myself to breathe to pull off that shot.”
Tom Cruise nearly “died” while filming the new Mission Impossible
Cruise said: “There were times when I actually passed out, unable to climb back into the cockpit as the script required.”
Previous Mission Impossible films have seen countless daring feats, from scaling the Burj Khalifa to launching motorcycles off cliffs and clinging to the top of a speeding train. But with this latest installment, director Christopher McQuarrie said the stunts are even “crazier.”
Tom Cruise added there was one scene where he nearly vomited from the stress: “The upcoming Part 2 will have stunts that make your brain feel like it’s melting. That scene was filmed in Africa, and it’s something you’ve never seen before.”
Although it might sound exaggerated, McQuarrie seemed serious. Back in January, during some early audience test screenings, one viewer even claimed to have almost had a heart attack during a particularly intense stunt sequence.
McQuarrie shared: “We had a small screening and someone said, ‘I held my breath for the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack.’ And I thought, if that’s the case, then we succeeded.”
Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning is scheduled to hit theaters on May 23. The film was originally set for release in 2022 but was delayed due to the pandemic as well as the double strike by the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA.
