Tom Cruise says it ‘took decades to figure out’ latest Mission Impossible stunt

Tom Cruise has claimed that an aerial stunt he performs in the new Mission: Impossible film took him “decades” to devise.

The 62-year-old star reprises his role as spy Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, which he has said could be the last installment in the long-running franchise.

During his appearance on The Tonight Show yesterday, host Jimmy Fallon asked Cruise whether he “manifests” the stunts that he wants to perform in each Mission: Impossible film.

“Yeah, I do,” responded Cruise.

Referring to a feat in the new film that involves him walking on a biplane, or plane with fixed wings, Cruise said that pulling off the stunt had been a lifelong dream: “I remember seeing black and white footage of the very early days of wing walk, and I just thought: 'I'd love to do that.' I was a little kid.”

Cruise said that he worked out the details of the stunt with Christopher McQuarrie, who has directed all four Mission: Impossible films since 2015’s Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

“McQ and I were just talking, we discussed doing an aerial sequence... and I wanted to do wing walking,” recalled Cruise.

“So we chose the airplane, and I know how to fly that airplane and figure it out. Then we just started seeing: How can I get zero G between the wings? What can we do? I don't know if you've ever had your hand outside a window going about 145 miles an hour. I don't know if you've ever done that? Well, 60 miles an hour and then multiply it, but feel the force of it. It was pretty intense, I've got to say.”

Cruise told Fallon that he didn’t want to share a clip of the death-defying sequence, as he wants the audience to go out and see the film.

Asked by the host how long it took him to devise and practice the stunt, Cruise responded: “It took decades to figure it out, honestly. I fly all these airplanes, and I've been creating and building different aerial stuff, even privately, and studying cameras and developing the technique and technology to be able to tell a story with aerials.”

He continued: “If you look at Top Gun, American Made, [Mission:Impossible] Fallout that led into Top Gun: Maverick, and this leads into this aerial sequence.”

The star added that he isn’t done yet, saying: “I can't wait for the next time we do an aerial sequence, I've got other ones!”