Few modern action movies are as daring and unconventional as the Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise-led sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow. Perhaps for a good reason. Though the movie is brilliant, for more than any one reason it fumbled at the box office. Still, the film has grown a cult following over time, even leading to constant rumors of a Tomorrow 2 sequel. For one of the stars, Emily Blunt, the 2014 release was her first foray into the action genre, and she is now revealing the sage advice her co-star gave her when she was feeling overwhelmed on set.
In a recent interview, the Jungle Cruise actress revealed the difficulty of wearing the large mech suits in the movie. Initially, she said she had been told they would be ditching CGI for a more ‘tactile’ type of suit, which led her to believe they would be wearing something a bit more comfortable than the 85-pound suits they ended up sporting. According to Blunt, the costumes were so heavy and claustrophobic that she began to have second thoughts about her ability to continue with the shoot, even breaking down in tears in front of her costar, Tom Cruise. She told the SmartLess podcast (via The New York Post):
We had to wear these enormous suits, which I think would’ve been great if we had CGI’d them, but we wanted to do it in a tactile way… When you hear the word ‘tactile,’ you think that sounds nice and cozy. There was nothing cozy about these suits. It was like 85 pounds. It was so heavy… The first time I put it on, I started to cry, and [Cruise] didn’t know what to do. I was like, ‘Tom, I’m not sure how I’m going to get through this shoot,’ and just started to cry, I said, ‘I’m feeling a bit panicky about the whole shoot.’
Who can blame the actress? Wearing an 85-pound mechanical suit for weeks of shooting would be harrowing. Luckily for Blunt, the Mission: Impossible actor had the right (and frankly, hilarious) advice to get her out of her head and back into the movie. She continued:
He [Cruise] just stared at me for a long time, not knowing what to do, and he goes, ‘Come on, stop being such a pussy, OK?’
The Quiet Place actress revealed the comment from Cruise caught her off-guard so much that it made her laugh. The 60-year-old Mission Impossible star is known for giving his costars advice. Recently he helped ease the nerves of his Top Gun: Maverick costar Glen Powell. The Top Gun newcomer felt overwhelmed stepping into the beloved franchise and being around producers Bruckheimer and Cruise. Luckily for the young actor, he received some words from Cruise that were a bit more layered than “stop being a pussy.” I suppose advice has to fit a given situation.
The Risky Business star also parted some words of wisdom to Thor actor Chris Hemsworth regarding moviemaking. The Avenger said he had the chance to talk to the A-lister about movie-making in general, and he took the opportunity to ask him what drove him in the business. According to Hemsworth, Cruise told him, “I want people to see my movies. I don’t want to put that much blood, sweat, and tears into it and have it come and go.” (A bit of an ironic statement considering the box office outcome with Blunt and Cruises teaming up, but I guess that film has lived on.)
Based on the novel All You Need Is Kill, Edge of Tomorrow is an action-packed semi-take on the Groundhog Day concept. Cruise plays a military man who has never seen action, and when he suddenly dies, he finds himself thrown into a time loop in which he relives the same brutal fight -- and his death -- over and over again. However, Cage’s fighting skills improve with each encore, bringing him and his kickass teammate, played by Emily Blunt, ever closer to defeating the aliens.
Whether a sequel to the sci-fi flick ever materializes (Blunt isn’t so sure about Edge of Tomorrow 2) is yet to be seen. However, Edge of Tomorrow It’s a brilliant concept that deserves to be seen by more people. Especially considering how much blood, sweat, and tears Cruise and especially Blunt (with the aide her costar’s advice) put into their performances.
We will inform you if there is any movement on Edge of Tomorrow 2. Fans of Emily Blunt can catch up with her in one of her latest action adventure outings, The Jungle Cruise, available for streaming with a Disney+ subscription. For news on other new movie releases coming to the 2023 schedule, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
