Star Trek called space the final frontier, and while that's certainly true for those looking to explore the universe, it's also the case for Hollywood. Space has become basically a punchline for any film franchise that has seemingly done it all. The Fast & Furious series has done every conceivable car stunt? Put them in space. Tom Cruise has done a HALO jump? Let's have him jump from space next. Except that last thing is sort of actually happening because Tom Cruise is now apparently confirmed for a trip to outer space.
Earlier this year it was reported that Tom Cruise was working with Elon Musk's SpaceX on a project that would see a movie actually shot in space. While we might call something like that a silly rumor coming from anybody else, Tom Cruise has built a reputation of not only being willing to perform extreme stunts himself but actually looking for opportunities to do so. Now, a Twitter account that follows space exploration has posted a schedule for future space travel missions that seems to confirm that both Tom Cruise and one of his frequent collaborators, writer/director Doug Liman, and currently booked to go to the International Space Station in October 2021 on board SpaceX's Dragon Axiom. And there's still an empty seat on the flight if you want to go.
The fact that both Tom Cruise and Doug Liman are confirmed for this trip, and Liman is currently listed as both the writer and director of this new SpaceX related project, would seem to confirm that, yes, Tom Cruise really is going to space to make a movie, though it doesn't give us any real details about what that movie is.
I'm now very curious if this project is actually the long-gestating Luna Park. That movie first popped up in September of 2015, and while we haven't heard much about it recently, it's a project Tom Cruise reportedly was interested in making prior to the last Mission: Impossible film, though that didn't end up happening. Luna Park is also a project written and directed by Doug Liman, and the movie is said to be about renegade space workers, so it fits with the apparent desire to film in space. Of course, it could be something entirely different, whether or not Luna Park ever happens.
Whatever the movie is, it looks like Tom Cruise will actually be going to space. It's sort of wild to imagine that sometime in 2022 or 2023 we might get a movie that includes scenes actually filmed in space. At the same time, if that is really happening, it's far from shocking that Tom Cruise is the man bringing us that.
In the meantime, we'll have to limit ourselves to watching Tom Cruise jump off cliffs for the Mission: Impossible sequels.
