Tom Cruise shares a terrifying behind-the-scenes video of a Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning stunt that could have killed him. In the clip, the actor prepares to film a dangerous underwater sequence, taking deep breaths before he suits up for the shoot. As Cruise heads into the tank, a voice off-camera (most likely belonging to director Christopher McQuarrie) stresses the importance of staying safe on set, stating he would prefer to stop filming a take than risk someone being seriously injured. The video ends on the unsettling image of Cruise being submerged in water before it cuts to black.
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“You see something wrong? You can yell, ‘Cut!’” McQuarrie says. “I would much rather you err on the side of caution and stop the whole movie than someone get hurt.” You can watch the video on Cruise’s official X account.
This particular stunt recently made headlines when Cruise revealed he risked suffocating himself while filming it. The actor detailed the challenges of shooting the scene, explaining he was “breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” which took a toll on him physically. For the sequence, Cruise was in an 8.5-million-liter tank. McQuarrie elaborated that Cruise was in a “rotating structure,” and it was difficult to find a way to make the scene appear “chaotic and unhinged” while also being safe enough to perform multiple takes as needed.
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Unsurprisingly, Cruise’s daredevil antics as Ethan Hunt are a key part of promotion in the build-up to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning‘s release this May. Earlier this month, the actor shared another behind-the-scenes look at one of the film’s many stunts, posting an equally terrifying video of himself dangling off a biplane in mid-air.
It’s clear from these videos that Cruise and McQuarrie didn’t hold anything back while making The Final Reckoning. The Mission: Impossible franchise has long been famous for Cruise’s death-defying feats, and the actor is trying to outdo himself once again. McQuarrie revealed that at a screening of The Final Reckoning, someone told him that they were “suffocating through” one of the film’s intense sequences. The director didn’t reveal which particular scene inspired that reaction, but it could possibly be this one. Ethan will almost surely be pushed to his absolute limits during the underwater sequence, mimicking what Cruise went through in real life while filming it.
Cruise going the extra mile for the stunts in The Final Reckoning help underscore the film’s feeling of finality; it’s set to wrap up nearly three decades of storytelling across eight movies, and it’s unknown if Cruise will return for another installment. If this is the end of the line for Ethan Hunt, it’s fitting that Cruise and Co. would want to make this adventure bigger than anything that’s come before it. That dedication to crafting memorable experiences for the audience is why the Mission: Impossible franchise has become a fan-favorite property over the years. Fortunately, Cruise was able to complete all his stunts without seriously hurting himself, and it’ll be exciting to see what else he has in store when The Final Reckoning opens in a few months.
