Tom Cruise doesn’t exactly seem like the kind of guy who would spend his quarantine time at home learning to bake bread, does he? Since the action star will soon get back to work on Mission: Impossible 7 soon, he has been using his free time to prepare to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt. Cruise has rented land in Oxfordshire, England from a local farmer and he is regularly training for scenes by riding a motocross bike and piloting a helicopter.
The 58-year-old actor was spotted riding a red motocross bike along the dirt field this month before taking a helicopter for a spin along the same piece of land, per Daily Mail. Tom Cruise is no stranger to motorbike riding and he has had his pilot’s license since 1994, but logging in some solo practice before shooting kicks off again doesn’t hurt.
The actor was recently given special permission from Britain's Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden to get back to work on Mission: Impossible 7 in the near future without a 14-day quarantine period. The production has been allowed to shoot on location as planned with a more tight-knit cast and crew on set. Cruise has been working closely with the UK government on the specific logistics of how production can still happen in the era of COVID-19.
It was previously revealed that the cast may be living in their own Mission: Impossible bubble of trailers during filming, but Tom Cruise reportedly will be staying in a hotel room during the months of production. His co-stars, such as Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Vanessa Kirby, have been hard at work training too, recently posting their video chat workout sessions. Atwell, who wrapped up her role as Marvel’s Peggy Carter last year, is getting seriously ripped for her mysterious role.
Mission: Impossible 7 began filming in Venice, Italy in February just as global health concerns started to become prevalent there. The crew moved to Surrey for their shoot shortly before being shut down completely in March like so many Hollywood productions. The franchise, which plans to film its seventh and eighth installments back to back, has already pushed back its theatrical release dates from the summer blockbusters to fall releases in 2021 and 2022.
Tom Cruise is particularly known for his show-stopping stunt work in Mission: Impossible movies, so it makes sense that the actor is returning to prep as soon as he can. Ethan Hunt has “3 obscene stunts” planned for the sequel that writer/director Christopher McQuarrie believes will make Fallout’s helicopter chase look like “tinker toys.”
Ahead of Mission: Impossible 7’s release on November 19, 2021, Tom Cruise will return to his Top Gun role for the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, coming to theaters on December 23.
