Tom Cruise’s Space Film Ambitions Crash Back to Earth
Tom Cruise’s much-hyped space film with Doug Liman has reportedly been shelved, with the project stalling over Cruise’s unwillingness to seek political approval for NASA involvement.
Tom Cruise’s bold plan to star in a feature film shot beyond our planet has fizzled out. The long-anticipated collaboration with Doug Liman, known for Edge of Tomorrow, has apparently been called off. Word is, the project hit a brick wall when Cruise hesitated to chase the necessary government green light for NASA’s involvement. As one insider put it,
‘From what I understand, they would need NASA coordination to do the movie, and supposedly Tom Cruise did not want to ask Donald Trump for a favour. You’d need permission from the federal government. Tom didn’t want to ask for political reasons.’
Plans for a Cinematic First
Back in 2020, the buzz was all about Cruise gearing up to make history as the first actor to film a narrative feature in space. NASA’s top brass even confirmed he’d be heading to the International Space Station for the shoot. Updates were few and far between, but in 2022, Universal Pictures’ Donna Langley reignited excitement, saying,
‘Tom Cruise is taking us to space. He’s taking the world to space. We have a great project in development with Tom, that does contemplate him doing just that. Taking a rocket up to the space station and shooting and hopefully being the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station.’
The untitled project was set to follow a bloke down on his luck, suddenly thrust into the role of Earth’s unlikely saviour. For fans, the idea of Cruise floating outside the ISS was a real drawcard. Now, it looks like punters will have to keep dreaming.
What’s Next for Cruise?
With the space adventure grounded, Cruise isn’t short on work. He’s lined up to star in a new, yet-to-be-titled film from Alejandro G. Iñárritu, the director behind The Revenant. Details are still under wraps, but the cast is shaping up to be a who’s who, featuring Jesse Plemons, Emma D’Arcy, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Sophie Wilde, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
This next outing is set to hit cinemas on 2 October 2026. While the spacewalk might be off the cards, Cruise’s knack for headline-grabbing roles is clearly still in orbit.