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‘The Flash’ Filmmakers Got A “Confidence Boost” From Tom Cruise Praise Of DC Film

By Armando Tinoco

Armando Tinoco

Night & Weekend Editor

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Tom Cruise is praising The Flash , the film starring Ezra Miller and directed by Andy Muschietti . The Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning star got an advanced screening of the DC superhero movie and gave Andy and his sister Barbara Muschietti a “confidence boost.”

“[We got] more confidence in the thing that we did, because the movie was finished by the time that [Cruise] saw it, so it was a confidence boost if anything,” Andy told Games Radar .

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Andy also opened up about reaching out to Zack Snyder to assure he was being respectful of the universe he had initially built with Justice League .

“I talked to Zack, but it wasn’t technical or narrative or anything,” he said. “I just wanted to reach out and say, ‘Hey.’ Because we haven’t met before, and I just wanted to tell him that we would be respectful to the stuff that he did before.”

He continued, “ Man of Steel obviously is foundational to this movie because the big threat of Zod coming to Earth is a big twist in this story, and it’s something that most DC fans know very well. And that’s one of the great things that can form the narrative of this movie.”

The Flash opens in theaters on June 16.

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‘The Flash’ Team Confirms Tom Cruise Called and Spent 15 Minutes ‘Praising the Film’: ‘It Was a Confidence Boost’

By Zack Sharf

Digital News Director

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Warner Bros.’ “ The Flash ” already has a few high profile fans before its theatrical release. Horror icon Stephen King got to see an early screening of the DC tentpole and raved on Twitter , “This one is special. It’s heartfelt, funny, and eye-popping. I loved it.” A report from THR also claimed that Tom Cruise was treated to an early look of the film and loved it so much that he personally called director Andy Muschietti to share raves. In a recent interview with Total Film magazine , Andy Muschietti and “The Flash” producer Barbara Muschietti confirmed Cruise’s phone call.

Barbara agreed, saying, “It’s a very cynical industry, and to hear people that really have no skin in the game, because they have nothing to gain, just say something that lovely – in the case of Tom Cruise, he called us, talked for 15 minutes, praising Andy, praising the film, and it just feels very good because we really work very hard to make these movies.”

In THR’s original story, it was reported that Cruise became interested in seeing “The Flash” after meeting with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav in February. Zaslav was raving about the comic book movie, which new DC Studios co-head James Gunn has repeatedly called one of the greatest superhero movies ever made. Cruise’s interest was piqued, so Zaslav arranged a screening for the A-lister.

Cruise has become something of cinema’s savior thanks to the blockbuster success of “Top Gun: Maverick,” which grossed $1.49 billion worldwide last year and was widely regarded as the studio tentpole that brought movie theaters back to life post-pandemic. Although Disney’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was the pandemic era’s first billion-dollar grosser and hit the $1.9 billion mark, that film was more of a sure bet theatrically than “Maverick” given its Marvel roots and a story that united three generations of Spider-Man actors.

“The Flash” opens in theaters nationwide June 16 from Warner Bros.

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Tom cruise has seen ‘the flash’ … and he loved it (exclusive).

A conversation with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav led to a private screening for Cruise at his Beverly Hills home.

By Borys Kit

Senior Film Writer

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The upcoming superhero movie The Flash has been done and locked for several months now as it awaits its June 16 release. It has many fans inside the studio, including new DC co-head James Gunn, who called it “probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made.”

Now, it has a fan outside the studio walls: actor, superstar and cinema-saver Tom Cruise.

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But, as an insider says, this was no casual messengering. A Warners employee brought the movie to Cruise’s home in Beverly Hills and stayed until the actor finished watching The Flash . It is unclear on what format Cruise watched it, whether it was digital or film. When Cruise finished, the movie was given back to the messenger, who returned it to the studio.

Cruise was so taken by what he saw that soon after, he reached out to Muschietti. It was a call out of the blue for the director. Cruise is said to have raved about the movie, saying something to the effect that Flash is “everything you want in a movie” and “this is the kind of movie we need now,” according to insiders.

Cruise has emerged as a kind of cinema and theater booster in recent times. “You saved Hollywood’s ass, and you might have saved theatrical distribution,” Steven Spielberg told the actor in an exchange at the Academy Luncheon that was caught on video and went viral. He was referring to Cruise’s push to keep Top Gun: Maverick in theaters and not on streaming and helping not only to push that movie to a $1.49 billion gross but also help spark a moviegoing revival last spring and summer.

Cruise has been handsomely rewarded for his commitment to the theatrical experience. His cut of Maverick is said to have brought him $100 million .

The Flash stars Ezra Miller as DC’s Scarlet Speedster. Miller leads a cast that includes Michael Keaton returning in the role of Batman. Ben Affleck is also on tap to return to the Batman role.

The movie has had a very long road to the screen, with numerous director changes even as Miller remained on board over the years. In more recent times, Miller has faced personal issues that threatened the making and release of the movie.

But the long road is nearing its end. And Warners is so high on it that it will be screening the film in its entirety for theater owners at CinemaCon in April, nearly two months before the release date.

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Tom Cruise Reviews The Flash After Demanding to See the DC Film Early

Top Gun: Maverick actor Tom Cruise praises The Flash after asking Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav for an early screening.

Tom Cruise praised The Flash after demanding to see the upcoming DC film early.

According to The Hollywood Reporter , Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise recently met with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. During the meeting, the CEO mentioned how great The Flash is, and Cruise requested to see it. Reportedly, a Warner Bros. Discovery employee brought the movie to Cruise's Beverly Hills home and stayed until the actor was done. After the screening had finished and the employee returned the film to the studio, Cruise was so impressed by the movie that he called director Andy Muschietti. According to insiders, Cruise had nothing but praise for the director, telling Muschietti that The Flash is "everything you want in a movie" and that "this is the kind of movie we need now."

RELATED: The Flash Reveals 'Other' Barry's First Costume, New Dark Flash Look

The Flash Film Earns Strong Praise Ahead of Release

Cruise's overwhelmingly positive comments regarding The Flash bode well for the DC film. His comments also echo DC Studios' co-CEO James Gunn's recent praise of the film. "I will say here that Flash is probably one of the greatest superhero movies ever made," Gunn claimed.

With Andy Muschietti behind the camera, The Flash will also see controversial actor Ezra Miller reprise their role as the titular hero. In addition, the official trailer promises that Michael Keaton's Batman will play a pivotal role in the film, alongside Sasha Calle's Supergirl. The recently released synopsis for The Flash reads,

"When Barry Allen arrives in an alternate 2013, he urgently seeks out the expertise of his friend and mentor Bruce Wayne – but the one he finds in the Multiverse is different on all fronts: older, long-retired from service as Gotham City’s protector and somehow even more hardened than the billionaire superhero Barry has grown to know. With a global threat on the horizon, Bruce Wayne must decide whether he can become Batman once more."

RELATED: Ben Affleck Says His Best Batman Is in The Flash - For Five Minutes

Tom Cruise's Success With Top Gun: Maverick

Since the release of Top Gun: Maverick in May 2022, and the overwhelming commercial and critical success that followed, Cruise has been regarded as a savior of cinema and the movie theater experience. The highly-anticipated Top Gun sequel made over $1.4 billion at the box office, broke streaming records on Paramount+ and was even nominated for Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards.

While Top Gun: Maverick was going through the Awards Season circuit, Steven Spielberg , one of Hollywood's most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful directors ever, even went out of his way to tell Cruise that he saved Hollywood. "You saved Hollywood's ass, and, you might have saved theatrical distribution. Seriously," Spielberg told the actor. " Maverick might have saved the entire theatrical industry."

The Flash will open in theaters on June 16, 2023.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

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Tom Cruise surprises DC moviegoers with personal introduction to 'Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning'

by 7News Staff

WASHINGTON (7News) — Imagine seeing Tom Cruise while on a trip to the movies. Cruise surprised a D.C. theater on Tuesday by showing up in person to introduce his new movie "Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One." The movie is the seventh in a 27-year-old franchise.

WJLA was at the AMC theater in Georgetown for his special introduction. "It's great seeing you, how are you?" Cruise asked the crowd.

"We worked a lot of time and very excited to be able to have this opportunity to show you this on the big screen," Cruise said. "This is why we do it for this moment right here, so y'all enjoy."

ALSO READ | Review: 'Top Gun: Maverick' is everything you could ask for from a summer blockbuster

Cruise has been busy promoting the latest installment of the "Mission Impossible" series. If you are planning to see the movie, it's two hours and 45 minutes of action.

Tom Cruise is here to help

For more than four decades, the actor has attained near-mythic status by giving us what we want — including seven ‘mission: impossible’ movies.

T om Cruise is about to blast back into our lives in “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One,” the first half of the seventh installment of the action-adventure franchise he launched in 1996. The movie was delayed four times. As it prepares to hit theaters on July 10, the buzz is all about Tom’s latest in a series of progressively more audacious stunts as super-operative Ethan Hunt, this one featuring him racing his motorcycle off a mountain top, then parachuting onto a speeding train to — what else? — save the day.

It’s all very on-brand for a film series built on can-you-top-that spectacle. But the most mythic element of what’s essentially a plot-point punch list — albeit an impressively executed one — is Tom Cruise himself.

Since making his brief screen debut in 1981 in the Brooke Shields movie “Endless Love,” Cruise has proved to be unusually durable as an on- and off-screen presence — perhaps not the “last” movie star, as some have dubbed him, but surely the most charismatic megafauna of the entertainment ecosystem.

We might be creeped out by the institutions that define his private life, puzzled by his relationships, skeptical about his sincerity, chronically curious about who he really is. But Tom Cruise merely absorbs our ambivalence and allows it to make him faster, stronger, more unreachably empyrean. Through it all, we’ve remained true to Tom Cruise, if only because of the universal yet deeply personal form of catharsis he alone can provide.

After “Endless Love,” Cruise played Reagan-era archetypes in a series of breakout roles: a rebellious military cadet in “Taps,” an all-American teenager in the brilliant comedy “Risky Business,” a cocky fighter pilot in 1986’s “Top Gun.” After long insisting he’d never make a sequel to that wildly successful military-industrial fantasy, he reprised his role last year in “Top Gun: Maverick,” which reinvigorated a theatrical movie business staggering from the coronavirus pandemic, streaming and rapid-onset irrelevance.

“Maverick,” a nearly beat-for-beat stylistic re-creation of the original, with Cruise playing a humbled, world-weary version of his obnoxiously hyper-competent title character, wound up grossing around $1.5 billion, making it Hollywood’s rarest rara avis: a global, trans-generational pop-culture phenomenon driven by a bona fide human being, rather than interchangeable actors buried under layers of Spandex and CGI.

“You saved Hollywood’s ass,” Steven Spielberg gushed to Cruise in a video clip that went viral during Oscar season. Arguably, Cruise saved his own ass, too. Or, more precisely, he proved that his singular hold on his audience hasn’t faltered and remains preternaturally — even inexplicably — strong.

The angular physical beauty has by now filled out and softened, and those look-Ma-no-hands stunts are approaching try-hard territory; the off-screen life may seem more strangely opaque than ever, with PR disasters dimly remembered, if at all.

Somehow, the Tom-ness of Cruise has transcended it all: the unique combination of all-consuming commitment, indefatigable work ethic, graceful physical chops, boundless enthusiasm and instinctive good taste that have allowed him to move beyond fame into another realm entirely. “It’s not enough just to be a great actor and to have star charisma,” explains director Doug Liman. “You need all of those qualities. If you’re missing one of those, you’re not Tom Cruise.”

A genuine love of moviemaking

Liman remembers when he first pitched Cruise on the sci-fi thriller “Live. Die. Repeat.,” later renamed “Edge of Tomorrow.” The actor was interested, but before he committed, he asked Liman not for script changes or co-star approval, but for ideas on concept art for the film. “[It was] like, what was the trailer for the movie going to look like?” Liman explains. “Because you can develop a great script, but if it’s not a movie people want to see, what’s the point?”

To Liman, Cruise’s request for concept art was just another way of asking the question that has consumed him above all others, and goes furthest in explaining his continuing potency: What does the audience want, and how can I give it to them? “He genuinely recognizes that he’s a movie star because people like his movies, and not the other way around,” Liman says. “It’s not like he’s anointed. He really cares about his audience and giving them their money’s worth.”

Cruise’s obsession with pleasing us — the clenched determination he puts into looking effortless — shouldn’t be confused with pandering. It’s more organic than that. And, whether that attunement is congenital or calculated or a mixture of both, he’s at the point where his sense of what a movie needs to succeed has become pure reflex.

Almost from the beginning, Cruise has made it a point to work with the very best, which explains a résumé that includes names such as Kubrick, Spielberg and Scorsese, as well as Oliver Stone, Paul Thomas Anderson and Michael Mann.

When he began the “Mission: Impossible” movies, he enlisted the legendary “Chinatown” screenwriter Robert Towne to elevate otherwise rote procedural formulas; for the past 16 years, his chief collaborator has been “The Usual Suspects” writer Christopher McQuarrie. As a producer and a star, he’s a one-man quality-control department, fine-toothing everything from casting to visual effects (which, in the interest of production value, are usually practical rather than digital).

“People aren’t aware of just how holistically he works as a filmmaker,” observes Ben Stiller, who has known Cruise for more than 30 years, since they met while Cruise was filming “The Firm.”

It was Cruise, Stiller says, who told him and co-writer Justin Theroux that their script for the Hollywood satire “Tropic Thunder” needed an additional character. “He said, ‘You’re making fun of actors and you’re making fun of agents, but you don’t have a studio head,’” Stiller recalls.

Cruise wound up playing that character, a fatuous balding production executive named Les Grossman, who became the most iconic figure in the movie, largely thanks to Cruise’s eagerness to make himself look ridiculous. (Which exemplifies another first rule of the Tom-ness of Cruise: He is nothing if not 100 percent game. “Let’s do it!” the most famous actor in the world replied when Stiller asked him to appear in a goofy video that he made for his wife, Christine Taylor. “I love it!” Cruise cried when Liman told him he wanted to make him a coward in “Edge of Tomorrow.”)

Talk to people who have worked with Cruise, from the beginning of his career to the present day, and you hear about his genuine, almost giddy love for what he does.

While doing interviews for “Minority Report” in 2002, Spielberg wistfully remembered getting to the set first thing in the morning only to find Cruise already there, ready to play.

Liman recalls setting a call time for 8 a.m. for the cast of “Edge of Tomorrow”; Cruise got there at least 15 minutes early, asking where everybody was. “He’s like, ‘It should be like taking a flight, people should get here early and be ready to go,’” Liman says. “Sometimes with movie stars, you’ve got to get them out of their trailer. Tom’s like, ‘We’ve been given this incredible opportunity, and we need to use every second to get as much production value and performance on the screen as possible.’”

Those motivational speeches are a Cruise hallmark; only rarely do they become rants, such as when he lit into “Dead Reckoning” crew members for violating pandemic precautions in 2021. “We are the gold standard,” he can be seen shouting in a video that instantly went viral. “They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us. Because they believe in us and what we’re doing. I’m on the phone with every [expletive] studio at night, insurance companies, producers and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs, you [expletive.] I don’t ever want to see it again. Ever!”

Few would dispute that Cruise’s outburst wasn’t the product of movie star pique as much as the laserlike focus and commitment that have defined him from the very beginning.

“I cannot reiterate enough how much Tom Cruise loves making movies,” says April Grace, who co-starred with Cruise in Anderson’s “Magnolia.” In the film, Cruise plays a misogynist self-help guru named Frank T.J. Mackey, whose buried past comes to light during an increasingly tense interview with a journalist played by Grace. Mackey’s character was a startling departure for Cruise, who had played flawed men before, but no one this angry or edgy. His scene with Grace is a taut, tightly calibrated boxing match of verbal feints and parries, as Cruise’s character goes from glib condescension to fear and, finally, aggression.

Grace recalls that Cruise worked with her even when he wasn’t needed. “I’ve worked with far lesser actors who would leave me to read with an assistant when they’re off-camera,” Grace says. “But Tom does not play that way at all. At one point, his face was literally smashed against the [side] of the camera, to get in my eye line as much as possible, even if I could only see the corner of his eye,” she says. “He was like, ‘What do you need, what can I do, how can I help you?’”

Cruise’s complicated private life

It’s easy to be cynical about Cruise’s messianic energy, his zealotry on behalf of an art form that, when he practices it, looks less like a profession than a holy vocation (is it any coincidence that he once contemplated becoming a Franciscan priest?). Tilt the lens, and even his most admirable qualities take on the contours of overcompensation: his obsession with satisfying the audience as an extension of him bringing joy and diversion to his mother and sisters after his parents split when Cruise was in sixth grade; reading everything in sight after overcoming dyslexia — with the help, he has said, of the Church of Scientology, which he joined in 1986.

The impression of Cruise protesting too much became queasier in 2005, when he professed his love for girlfriend Katie Holmes by manically jumping on a couch during an Oprah Winfrey interview. A few months later, he criticized Shields for taking medication for her postpartum depression, which led to an infamous interview on the “Today” show during which he defended Scientology and its anti-psychiatry stance to co-host Matt Lauer. “Matt. Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt. You’re glib,” Cruise said. “You don’t even know what Ritalin is.” Cruise looked arrogant, entitled, unhinged.

Many observers thought he would never recover. His relationship with Spielberg, whose movie “War of the Worlds” Cruise was supposed to be promoting, ruptured. (They still haven’t worked together again.) And it wouldn’t be the last time Cruise would come in for scrutiny, especially regarding his relationship with Scientology, which is officially recognized as a church but which many former practitioners and journalists who have investigated it consider a dangerous and abusive cult.

Like the Entity, the artificial intelligence program Hunt pursues in “Dead Reckoning,” Cruise learns, corrects, iterates. After the 2005 debacle, he assembled a first-class publicity team and largely clammed up, only making himself available selectively. (He declined a request to be interviewed for this article.) Constantly scraping his environment and audience expectations for data, he adjusts and improves, ultimately achieving the perfect Zen balance of mega-celebrity: near-constant ubiquity and inscrutable remoteness.

It’s just this ability to emerge unscathed that drives Cruise’s detractors crazy. “I happen to have a huge body of facts, particularly with regard to his and Scientology’s treatment toward women, that for me makes it very hard to excuse his continued adulation,” says Maureen Orth, who wrote a troubling article about Cruise’s relationship with the actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi for Vanity Fair in 2012. “Not just because of him alone, but [because] he’s the second most important person in Scientology, next to [church leader] David Miscavige. … The press has fallen down on its job, too. He always gets a free pass. He never gets asked about this stuff anymore.”

Indeed, by the time Golden Globes host Jerrod Carmichael made a pointed joke about Cruise and Scientology this year, the jibe landed but didn’t gain purchase. (Carmichael suggested they trade in the Globes Cruise returned in protest for “the safe return” of Miscavige’s wife Shelly, who has not been seen in public for several years.)

Ever the generational avatar, Cruise has become a vessel, not for our aspirations and wish-fulfillment fantasies, but for 21st-century exhaustion: with pandemics, with Trump-era political ructions, with the pressing demand that our celebrities’ private actions and beliefs align completely with our own. Sensing the wound in our collective consciousness, the Tom-ness of Cruise acts as both purgative and balm. Could anyone else have brought us together after the trauma, tribal hostility and enforced separation that has defined American life since 2016?

Cruise was pointedly absent at this year’s Oscars, despite the fact that “Top Gun: Maverick” was nominated for six awards, including best picture. The official excuse was a scheduling conflict, but he would be well within his rights to hold out for the respect he’s due, not as the Saver of Hollywood’s Ass, but as the consistently superb actor he’s been for more than four decades. Unbelievably, he’s been nominated only three times for his performances, in “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Jerry Maguire” and “Magnolia.”

Jon Avnet, who produced “Risky Business,” has seen Cruise’s ability from the moment he read for the part of Joel Goodsen in that film, when Avnet recognized “a form of confidence — it wasn’t cockiness — but a form of confidence that for a 19-year-old was very unusual.” Even then, Avnet notes, Cruise was able to grasp the tricky tonal balance of “Risky Business,” which seems to be a teenage sex comedy before it becomes a darker, more layered critique of contemporary capitalism. “That combination of playing it straight while at the same time having a wry sense of humor, while still maintaining a level of innocence or lack of sophistication, he really seemed to inhabit that,” Avnet says.

As for why artistic recognition has eluded Cruise, Avnet explains: “There is a tradition in Hollywood that is cruel to people with certain gifts. … The pettiness comes out when you vote.”

By now, a new generation has grown up with Tom Cruise: the children of the boomers and X-ers for whom the “Mission: Impossible” movies are a family tradition.

But to understand Cruise’s power, they need to go to the back catalogue, to “A Few Good Men” and “Rain Man,” “Collateral” and “Minority Report,” “Magnolia” and “Tropic Thunder,” to experience firsthand what an uncommonly versatile actor can be and always has been. In trying to preserve theatrical filmgoing, he has gone all-in on the blockbuster. After the final Mission: Impossible installment next year, he’s poised to make history as the first actor to film a movie in the International Space Station.

After saving planet Earth, there are only questions. How far will Cruise go to exploit that boyish “Let’s do it!” energy in service to chases, stunts and hyperkinetic set pieces? “I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him,” Cruise recently told the Sydney Morning Herald, referring to 80-year-old Harrison Ford. “I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.” And wouldn’t a return to the midrange dramas and comedies that made him a star be a nervier trust fall?

“I feel like he’s smart enough to know that changing things up, or exploring an area that people might not expect him to go, is really exciting. People enjoy that, and I think he enjoys it, too,” says Stiller. “I also think that at this point, he’s done so much, he’s earned the right to chill out.”

The Tom-ness of Cruise allows for many things; chilling out, let it be noted, isn’t one of them. More precisely, it could be allowed, but only with the audience’s permission. Ultimately, Cruise’s hold on us is best explained by our hold on him. He’s still at the camera, his face as close as it can get, waiting to make his next move, waiting for us to tell him exactly what we need.

Green Lantern: Tom Cruise Transforms Into Hal Jordan In DCU Concept Art

It seems as though moviegoers can't get enough of Tom Cruise flying, whether he's a "Top Gun" graduate or a Ferris Aircraft test pilot.

The legendary Hollywood action star and stunt performer (who most recently launched himself off of a cliff while riding a motorcycle for " Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One ") has flirted with bringing his unique talents to a superhero franchise ever since he was in the running to play Tony Stark. That was long before Robert Downey Jr. took on the role.

On Instagram, artist Pablo Ruiz (@pabloruizzx) has sparked further fan interest in seeing the actor take on one of his most requested superhero roles — Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern. The fan-favorite DC Comics character (infamously played by future "Deadpool" star Ryan Reynolds in 2011) is depicted by Ruiz as floating stoically above Earth, with Cruise's recognizable visage only slightly concealed by the traditional domino mask worn by those in the Green Lantern Corps. 

In a caption written in March of 2020, Ruiz shared his affection for both Hal Jordan and Tom Cruise, as well as his hope that the former would appear in Zack Snyder's then-upcoming director's cut of "Justice League." While that never came to pass, it's worth mentioning that James Gunn has yet to cast his own Hal Jordan — and there's a solid argument for Cruise being considered.

Tom Cruise would be a perfect Hal Jordan

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pablo Ruiz (@pabloruizzx)

It isn't hard to see why fans think Tom Cruise would be the perfect Hal Jordan. The "Top Gun: Maverick" star is famously capable of flying aircraft, having earned his pilot's license back in 1994. Though he wasn't allowed to fly the military grade F-18s seen in the 2022 film, he does pilot his own P-51 Mustang during the final battle. In 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout," the actor even flew a helicopter through a tight passage for a tense action sequence.

Perhaps fans are hoping that, should Cruise play the character in James Gunn's new DC Films Universe, he could bring his singular aviation skills to practically portray the death-defying talents "Highball" Hal has shown in a cockpit in past comic book stories. As exciting as that sounds, it might be a bit too noisy — and probably too expensive — to do in the upcoming Max series "Lanterns," which Gunn originally described as a crime thriller in the same vein as "True Detective." 

At the very least, we have this art to imagine the cosmic Tom Cruise "Green Lantern" film that might've been.

Screen Rant

Why tom cruise as green lantern makes sense.

Green Lantern movie reports suggest Tom Cruise is still WB's top pick for Hal Jordan - with his Mission: Impossible director, too.

It's time to prepare for DC's Green Lantern movie to star Tom Cruise as Hal Jordan. Fans may still have a hard time believing Warner Bros. is moving forward with ANY movie adaptation of Green Lantern , let alone the proposed Green Lantern Corps ensemble. At a time when the future of the DCEU is uncertain, trying a second swing at the superhero Ryan Reynolds still takes shots at sounds like folly. But then, the new leadership of DC Films isn't going to win over fans by sticking to safe bets. Not that a star of Cruise's stature is a "risk" at this point.There's more evidence than that tying Tom Cruise to the role of Hal Jordan. In fact, the new reports of WB looking to the current Mission: Impossible director for a Green Lantern movie may reveal more than most fans realize. RELATED: Green Lantern Corps. Writer Confirms Film is Still Coming When you connect the dots, this potential star and director seem to make perfect sense for DC Films - and Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Not just on the set of such a big sci-fi blockbuster... but behind the scenes, giving it the best chance at giving DC another winner. Whether or not the rumors prove true, it's a sign that the initial word of Tom Cruise being sought was more than just Hollywood gossip.This Page: Tom Cruise May Not Have Passed On Green LanternPage 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Why%20Tom%20Cruise%20Makes%20Perfect%20Sense%20For%20Hal%20Jordan']

Tom Cruise May Actually Be Interested in Green Lantern

When the first reports surfaced of the studio's top picks for Green Lantern, it was obvious they would make waves no matter the choice. With Tom Cruise on the Green Lantern shortlist , and apparently joined by Ryan Reynolds reprising his role, the idea of casting a young up and comer or lesser known actor went out the window. The return of Reynolds made sense to hope for, but with his schedule filling up with Deadpool sequels (and his bad experience the first time around) he was a long shot. Cruise, on the other hand, suggested that Warner Bros. hoped to hedge their bets with a risky property by casting one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

Now comes the report that - separately, it seems - the studio had an interest in Christopher McQuarrie to direct Green Lantern Corps . Given McQuarrie and Cruise's working relationship, seeing their names raised for the same project from separate reports isn't a surprise. Cruise was a major proponent of bringing McQuarrie on to helm Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (in his capacity as producer as well as star). And after Valkyrie , Jack Reacher , Edge of Tomorrow , Rogue Nation , The Mummy , and the upcoming Mission: Impossible - Fallout , McQuarrie is clearly one of Cruise's preferred collaborators.

Keep in mind, The Wrap's shortlist which namedropped Tom Cruise for Green Lantern Corps came from early last year, and our own sources on McQuarrie indicate he's not currently involved or in talks. This does help sketch out a possible timeline on the dealings behind Green Lantern Corps and are signs that development is, in some way, still moving forward. So can more be read into Cruise becoming WB's top pick for Green Lantern, development going nowhere for months, and McQuarrie at some point being courted to direct?

Tom Cruise & Chris McQuarrie May Be a Package Deal

After weighing the reports, it seems a stretch to assume the reports aren't connected. The most obvious explanation still begins with Warner Bros. trying to convince Tom Cruise to nab the lead in Green Lantern Corps , as previously rumored. The deal would be tenuous based on little more than the fact that Cruise hasn't made many films with WB. But add in the recent shifts in leadership, and it's not even clear who Cruise would be working with as star and producer (his usual roles) should he get involved.

RELATED: Green Lantern Movie Writer Wants Ricky Whittle For John Stewart

Were he to apply the same leverage as he did with Mission: Impossible and move to bring McQuarrie into the deal - to write, direct, and produce - things change considerably. Regardless of the outcome, the most obvious explanation suggests Cruise has yet to formally refuse, or at least lack any interest. But is Warner Bros. willing to give up such creative freedom? That may be a sticking point, considering the rumors of studio meddling in both Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman - and that was before the Justice League movie debacle . Then again, WB may be more than willing to get into business with proven creators.

Would that be enough to convince Cruise to take one of the two starring roles? For the sake of the movie and character, we hope so.

Tom Cruise is Perfect For a 'Veteran' Hal Jordan

There will be plenty of comic book fans who hear the name "Tom Cruise" in discussions about Green Lantern and simply scoff. But such is the price of undeniable A-lister status, as many balked at Ben Affleck being cast as Batman , noting the actor for his worst roles, not his best. But nobody needs to make the case for Tom Cruise instantly turning Green Lantern Corps from an uphill battle into a serious contender. Not just for his knack at drawing blockbuster crowds, but for the budget and quality associated with projects he joins.

RELATED: Things You Never Knew About The Green Lantern Corps

Thankfully, the role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern Corps could also capitalize on Cruise's entire range of talent, while bringing an as-yet unexplored structure to the superhero genre.

For those who may not have kept up with Corps rumors, prior reports suggest that Green Lantern Corps will co-star Hal Jordan AND John Stewart . One, the test pilot turned veteran space cop, the other a new recruit and former army sniper. The word of mouth said DC is looking for a star up to the age of 50 for Hal Jordan (they would surely make an exception for the 55 year-old Cruise). The question from a casting standpoint isn't just ' which actors could play Hal Jordan ,' but who step onscreen in their first film and sell the idea that they've been a superhero for years?

An actor of Cruise's fame would do it from before the first teaser trailer, in much the same way Ben Affleck eclipsed Henry Cavill in BvS . The biggest opportunity, though, may be in the team chemistry. If fan hopes came true and Corps turned into a full-blown ensemble with a squad of starring Lanterns, Hal would be the one character guaranteed NOT to be overshadowed - which is harder than it seems.

John Stewart? He's the military man, apparently having his story act as the audience's introduction. Guy Gardner? The comic relief. Every other human Lantern was created with a clear quirk or archetype. But Hal Jordan? He has to make it just by playing a likable, charming, classical hero - a well-worn role in Marvel's movie mold. Who better to make that role sing than the movie star's movie star (and one who puts even Hal Jordan's charms to shame). Not to mention letting Cruise channel both his Ethan Hunt adrenaline and his sense of humor.

If the studio really wants "constant freshness" in DC movies , there's no reason Tom Cruise shouldn't also get to have some fun. If a writer/director like McQuarrie actually did take the job, a star of Cruise's caliber would simply be a bonus. If they're both taking time to get it right... fans can keep their fingers crossed in the meantime.

RELATED: How The Green Lantern Movie Helped Thor: Ragnarok

Correction: An additional link was added for context alongside an adjust to this article's title to better reflect our own and external sources.

Sources: ThatHashtagShow , The Wrap

Tom Cruise Praises ‘The Flash’, Could Lead To Huge DCU Role

in Movies & TV

Tom Cruise has been sought after when it comes to any superhero role. He has been linked plenty to the MCU , superficially when it comes to taking over as Iron Man. People are still hoping he might appear as a different version of Tony Stark when Avengers: Secret Wars emerges.

Related: Tom Cruise Speaks Out on Playing Tony Stark In the MCU

However, it appears the lure of the DCU might be too strong now, especially after the actor has hurled praise at The Flash . Cruise was able to see the movie early and highly loved it.

The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Tom Cruise spoke to the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, who told the actor how amazing the DCU movie is, warranting Cruise to ask to see it.

A Warner Bros. employee delivered the movie to Cruise’s home in Beverly Hills and waited for him to finish. After the private showing, Cruise told Zaslav that The Flash is “everything you want in a movie” and “this is the kind of movie we need now.”

Related: Tom Cruise’s ‘Top Gun’ Surpasses Iconic MCU Movie With New Record

These comments are exciting coming from Cruise, as he has been heralded for “saving cinema” with his performance in Top Gun: Maverick.

Legendary director Steven Spielberg echoed those comments to Cruise at an Academy luncheon, where he told the actor. “You saved Hollywood’s a**, and you might have saved theatrical distribution.”

Tom Cruise is one of the most beloved actors in the business and a massive draw that has likely been begged by both Marvel and DC to join their respective sides of things. We imagine the DCU might have the upper edge if David Zaslav could impress Tom Cruise so much.

Now that Cruise has praised The Flash , we wonder if that means the actor will meet with Peter Safran and James Gunn next. Granted, the pair have taken over DC Films after The Flash has already been worked on, but they could coax them over to the DCU side of things with their new reboot .

We wonder what type of role Tom Cruise would accept or want should he decide to want to come over to DC.

Who Would Tom Cruise Portray In The DCU?

Tom Cruise could take on plenty of roles with any given comic book medium. However, Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest draws in Hollywood for decades. He is even more of a draw for how massively successful Top Gun: Maverick has been.

We say that to point out that Cruise would not enter something like the DCU for a minor role. It would have to be something substantial across multiple movies and shows.

A role we think he would be perfect for is Lex Luthor. Look at how Cruise portrayed Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder . Granted, that was a silly role, and one meant to be hilarious, but he was incredible as the “villain.”

Lex Luthor would exist across the DCU in the same way that Josh Brolin did as Thanos. Gunn is set to direct Superman: Legacy , and though that will cover a younger Superman, we would imagine that Luthor will be the antagonist in the new movie.

Tom Cruise could come in as Lex Luthor and pop up in Creature Commandos , Waller , Lanterns , The Authority , Booster Gold , and The Brave and the Bold could theoretically feature Cruise as Luthor.

Tom Cruise might also be able to portray Hal Jordan, though some might view him as too old for that part. We think he would be a perfect Hal Jordan to truly kick off the Green Lantern Corps. Again, Jordan would be a character that Cruise could portray in multiple entries across the DCU

Who do you think Tom Cruise would portray in the DCU? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!

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A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves. A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves. A young man must stop the Lord of Darkness from destroying daylight and marrying the woman he loves.

• Ridley Scott
• William Hjortsberg
• 366 User reviews
• 147 Critic reviews
• 30 Metascore
• 1 win & 12 nominations total

• Meg Mucklebones

• (as Ian Longmuir)
• (as Mike Crane)
• Dancing Black Dress

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• Trivia Tom Cruise reportedly wasn't happy with the American cut of this movie and wouldn't talk about it for years because of it. He very much encouraged fans to go with the Director's Cut.
• Goofs Throughout the movie, the Unicorns have mismatched genders. It can clearly be seen when the animals rear up in the air. One example of this is when Brown Tom is guarding the "mare", and Lily trudges through the snow, frightening the horse.

Darkness : The dreams of youth are the regrets of maturity.

• Alternate versions There are at least four different versions of this picture: the original European release (94 min.), the American theatrical release (89 min.), a network TV version (94 min.) and a director's cut (113 min.)
• Connections Edited into Nostalgia Critic: Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2017)
• Soundtracks Is Your Love Strong Enough Written and Performed by Bryan Ferry Produced by Rhett Davies and Bryan Ferry Mixed by Bob Clearmountain

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• April 18, 1986 (United States)
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• Apr 20, 1986

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Tom Cruise Seen Sprinting Down Street in London as He Shoots Next Mission: Impossible Movie

The eighth 'Mission: Impossible' film, which does not yet have a title, is expected in theaters May 23, 2025

Mega / Dean - Click News And Media / SplashNews.com

Tom Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down in the next Mission: Impossible movie.

On Sunday, Cruise, 61, was seen sprinting down a street in London while filming a scene for the upcoming eighth film in his signature action franchise. The actor could be seen wearing a black suit with a white shirt opened at the top, with fake blood drenched over his chest while filming the sequence.

Cruise most recently appeared as his Mission: Impossible character Ethan Hunt in last year's Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning , which made $172 million at the  domestic box office . Dead Reckoning also earned the franchise its first-ever Academy Award nominations when it received nods for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the recent 96th Oscars ceremony.

A title for the upcoming eighth Mission: Impossible movie has not yet been announced. The next film was originally set for release on June 28, but production delays related to 2023's SAG-AFTRA strike forced the film to restart production in the fall and delay its release until May 23, 2025, as Deadline reported back in October.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Dead Reckoning left Cruise's character Ethan Hunt and series regulars Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg) at odds with villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) and forging new alliances with characters like Grace (Hayley Atwell) over a battle for control over a sentient artificial intelligence.

James Gourley/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures

The eighth Mission: Impossible film is just one movie among a number of projects Cruise has in development. In February, PEOPLE confirmed Cruise will star in the next movie from The Revenant filmmaker  Alejandro G. Iñárritu , while The Hollywood Reporter  reported in January that Paramount is developing Top Gun 3 as a sequel to Cruise's major 2022 success Top Gun: Maverick .

Cruise, known for his penchant for performing his own stunts, was recently seen climbing the iconic Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills on March 16 accompanied by a film crew. A representative for Cruise did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Monday. While it's unclear what Cruise was filming on Saturday, the stunt did not appear related to the next Mission: Impossible film.

Mission: Impossible 8 is expected in theaters May 23, 2025.

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Bloody Tom Cruise sprints through London with wild hair in ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ set photos

It’s impossible not to marvel at his stamina.

Tom Cruise showed off his incredible athleticism in new photos from the set of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” in London on Sunday.

In photos obtained by The Post, Cruise, 61, can be seen sporting shaggy hair and a white shirt drenched in fake blood as he sprints across Westminster Bridge. Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster appear in the background in the action-packed shot.

While little is known about the film, which has been reported to serve as Cruise’s final appearance as Ethan Hunt, it can be assumed that Hunt will be forced to flee some sort of fancy gathering.

In addition to Cruise , several photos were captured of Parliament Square being barricaded off and filled with background actors dressed in army uniforms and helmets.

Many of the extras were spotted carrying prop guns as they milled around several army jeeps waiting for their next take.

Several fences that were put up around the area had various warnings such as “Restricted Area,” “Police security operation” and “Security checkpoint ahead.”

Despite the seriousness of the scene, the “Jerry Maguire” actor — who is well known for doing his own stunts — was spotted laughing and chatting with the crew.

The eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” series , which stars Simon Pegg , Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, is set to be released nearly two years after the first part , which was nominated for Best Sound and Visual Effects at the 2024 Oscars .

Despite the rumors that both parts of the film were designed to serve as a send-off to Cruise’s character, director Christopher McQuarrie told the  “Light the Fuse” podcast that fans can’t believe everything they hear.

“Let me tell you, I’ve been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been standing next to the man, witnessed an event and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true,” McQuarrie, 55, told the podcast.

“Mission: Impossible” is not the only franchise Cruise is reportedly working on at the moment.

According to  Puck News , the action star is also working on a third “Top Gun” film.

The new project would see the return of Cruise’s Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and  “Top Gun: Maverick”  co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell. 

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two” will hit theaters on May 23, 2025.

Warner Bros. Reportedly “Courting” Tom Cruise To Join Upcoming DC Studios Project

Tom cruise was reportedly only sent an early copy of 'the flash' due to warner bros. pictures "courting" him to star in james gunn's dcu..

When news broke earlier this year that Tom Cruise was sent an early copy of Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Flash . DC fans were initially confused as to how besides the fact that he is one of the biggest movie stars in the world.

The fact was all boiled down by fans online to Cruise just being eager to see the DC flick and maybe not having enough time due to shooting his Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning instalments Part One and Part Two .

However, newly rumoured information suggests it had far greater meaning as a Twitter user known as KC Walsh claims Cruise was sent the movie in an attempt to convince him to join an upcoming project over at DC Studios .

Warner Bros. “Courting” Tom Cruise To Join DCU

If this is true… who could Tom Cruise be being asked to play in the DCU ?

The popular insider known as KC Walsh took to Twitter on June 17 to post “ Tom Cruise seeing The Flash was not a PR stunt, they are courting him for a project ”.

As mentioned, this is in reference to the now-confirmed time Tom Cruise was literally sent an early copy of The Flash , starring Ezra Miller, directly to his house.

KC Walsh’s post doesn’t include any information as to which project Cruise is reportedly being eyed for at James Gunn and Peter Safran ‘s DC Studios. Just that the studio is seemingly so keen on him joining that they sent him the early gift.

Related: ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Adds Charles Manson Actor Damon Herriman As Live-Action Quan Chi

If true, it could also be possible that Cruise just wanted to see the newest instalment to the DC franchise over at Warner Bros. Pictures to help him make up his mind.

Which DC Role Could Tom Cruise Be Up For?

Many fan castings online have put Cruise in the suit of Hal Jordan aka DC’s Green Lantern. Hal Jordan is typically fairly younger than Cruise, however, the Mission Impossible star has proved he’s still up to the task of leading an action flick.

It’s unlikely that James Gunn will be looking at Cruise to star as the next Superman as he has already confirmed he is looking to cast a younger actor to take on the role.

Related: Pierson Fodé as Superman Revealed In New Stunt Video For James Gunn’s DCU

Cruise could even be up for a villain role or maybe even just serve as a voice for a character. It’s truly unclear as this is just a rumour as of writing as no additional details have been shared since KC Walsh’s original post.

Hopefully, some news will be shed on this rumour soon, stay tuned.

Source: Twitter

Alex Duthie

Founder & Editor-In-Chief of CoveredGeekly.com Lover of film and cinema, binger of TV shows, gamer when I have the time, and pop culture expert.

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Tom Cruise Goes Running Again in First Look At Mission: Impossible 8

Tom Cruise does what he does best in new footage from the filming of the next Mission: Impossible installment, and fans love it.

• Fans share excitement over Tom Cruise running in London for Mission: Impossible 8 .
• Action-packed scenes feature Cruise sprinting to save the world from rogue AI, captivating audiences globally.
• Mission: Impossible 8 plot remains a mystery, but it will likely continue the story with The Entity and familiar faces.

Hollywood icon Tom Cruise is back to doing what he does best, running, as the actor films scenes for the action sequel Mission: Impossible 8 in London, England. Fans of the actor and the franchise have now taken to Twitter/X to share images, footage, and their thoughts on Cruise’s running, which somehow remains one of the most gripping elements of modern blockbuster moviemaking.

You can check out the visual poetry that is Tom Cruise running below, as well as some thoughts and feelings shared by fans who cannot wait to see him run all over the world once again in Mission: Impossible 8 .

Several images of the actor sprinting either away or towards the latest global threat have also emerged, and offer our first look at the next Mission: Impossible sequel, which was formerly titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two before changes were made behind the scenes .

Released in July last year, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. The Mission: Impossible follow-up finds Tom Cruise back as Ethan Hunt, who this time must save the world from a rogue AI known as “The Entity.” You can check out the official synopsis and trailer for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning below.

“Ethan Hunt and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: to track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.”

What Will Mission: Impossible 8 Be About?

It is currently unknown exactly what Mission: Impossible 8 will be about but, considering that movies 7 and 8 were initially intended to be a two-parter, we can no doubt expect the next movie to carry over some of the plot elements from its predecessor. This likely includes both the AI enemy known as The Entity , and the villainous Gabriel (Esai Morales), a terrorist with ties to Ethan Hunts's past. We can also expect to see the core cast return, including Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, and Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, as well as newcomer Hayley Atwell as Grace.

How the Mission: Impossible Title Change Could Save the Franchise

The rest of the ensemble will reportedly include Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, Pom Klementieff as Paris, and Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs, alongside Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, and Lucy Tulugarjuk. Following the apparent fate of Ilsa Faust , it is currently unknown whether Rebecca Ferguson will be involved.

Mission: Impossible 8 is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 23, 2025, by Paramount Pictures.

'Edge of Tomorrow' Works Because Tom Cruise Is Playing a Coward

Major William Cage is not like Ethan Hunt!

The Big Picture

• Tom Cruise's role as Major William Cage in Edge of Tomorrow showcases his comedic talent and his range beyond typical action hero roles.
• The film allows Cruise to have a genuine character arc, demonstrating self-sacrifice and bravery.
• Cruise and Emily Blunt's dynamic chemistry enhances the film's narrative and adds depth to their characters.

Tom Cruise has been one of the biggest movie stars in the world for four decades, but he’s somehow having a new renaissance in his career over the past decade. While Cruise’s string of hits in the 1990s emphasized his ambition to work with auteur filmmakers and give versatile performances, it seems like Cruise’s current work is only in service of the audience. Cruise continues to push himself to deliver outrageously entertaining maximalist spectacle , and the success of the last few Mission: Impossible films and Top Gun: Maverick indicate that audiences will follow him no matter where he goes. Interestingly, one of the more underrated films from this era is the sci-fi action flick Edge of Tomorrow , in which Cruise took a completely different type of challenge — he had to play a coward.

Edge of Tomorrow

A soldier fighting aliens gets to relive the same day over and over again, the day restarting every time he dies.

What Is 'Edge of Tomorrow' About?

Directed by Doug Liman , Edge of Tomorrow takes place in 2015 when a group of alien invaders known as “Mimics” have taken control of Europe, forcing troopers to head to the frontlines in mech-suits to ward off their seemingly brilliant opponents. Major William Cage (Cruise) is simply a “public affairs” officer with no combat experience who aims to use his superior position to avoid duty, but he’s punished and sent directly to the frontlines. After attempting to desert, Cage finds himself squarely under the command of the no-nonsense veteran Sergeant Rita Vrataski ( Emily Blunt ). Although they’re initially at odds, Cage finds that he must seek Rita’s help if he’s to escape the time loop he’s been caught in, wherein he keeps dying and coming back to life only to repeat the same day over and over .

Edge of Tomorrow sets up a premise that borrows from both Groundhog Day and Independence Day , but Cruise’s performance is a lot closer to Bill Murray ’s Phil Connors than Will Smith ’s Steven Hiller. He’s a reluctant hero who doesn’t even want to be a hero, which couldn’t be more different from Ethan Hunt or Pete Mitchell. The use of the time loop trope allows Cruise to have a genuine character arc where he has to prove himself, learn new skills, and discover the value of self-sacrifice and bravery. It also allowed him to flex his comedic chops in a way that he hadn’t been able to since his work in the 1990s. Cruise’s dynamic performance as a lovable loser makes Edge of Tomorrow rank among the most entertaining original blockbusters in recent memory.

'Edge of Tomorrow' Shows Off Tom Cruise's Comedic Abilities

Despite being one of the biggest box office draws in history, it’s easy to forget that Tom Cruise is already an acclaimed performer . This is someone who has worked with Oliver Stone , Steven Spielberg , Stanley Kubrick , Michael Mann , and Paul Thomas Anderson , so he’s picked up a few things about playing a nuanced character. What’s brilliant about the writing of Cage is that the script doesn’t go over the top in making him unlikeable; he’s simply the product of an unfair system that risks the lives of those who can’t afford to luxuriate in a comfortable corporate position like he can. He may be blissfully mean-spirited, but he’s not necessarily a war-mongering militarist like his superior, General Brigham ( Brendan Gleeson ).

It’s also easily forgotten how funny Cruise can be. We see an awkward, goofy side of him in Edge of Tomorrow that’s been absent in his performances (except for a little detour in Tropic Thunder ) since Jerry Maguire . This is exemplified when he’s awkwardly introduced to his new team of companions in the barracks and desperately tries to escape from duty. Seeing Cage demolished and killed in different ways as he tries to find any means to avoid actually doing anything productive allows the film to have a morbid, dark sense of humor. While it’s quite similar to a sequence in Groundhog Day when Phil continues to attempt suicide, it’s even funnier here as a self-aware reference to Cruise’s history of performing dangerous stunts . Cruise even helps shed light on the supporting cast as Cage begins to mess with his fellow soldiers by predicting their activities each time he’s reincarnated.

However, Cage’s cowardly nature also gives the film a direction, and it makes him a more inspirational character. There’s a bit of The Twilight Zone magic within the story about an ordinary man called on to do extraordinary things, and Cruise gets to show how Cage slowly learns about his own abilities as he trains with Rita. Having an inexperienced character allows the film to provide exposition in a naturalistic way, as Cage is hilariously unprepared for all elements of combat . These scenes would all be infinitely less interesting if Cruise was playing an action hero like Ethan Hunt , who already knows how the gadgets work.

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt Are a Dynamic Duo in 'Edge of Tomorrow'

There’s a good deal of the Alien legacy in Edge of Tomorrow, and Blunt certainly gives a performance worthy of Sigourney Weaver ’s Ellen Ripley . In a reversal of roles, Rita is the hard-edged, cynical veteran tasked with helping Cage. The film sets off a fun dichotomy where Rita obviously wants to figure out the aliens’ plan herself, but must train a goofball like Cage because he’s been infected and can retain his memories. There’s a plot-centric reason for them to stay together, and the chemistry between Cruise and Blunt steadily convinces the viewers that they’re learning to appreciate each other.

Having Cage initially be a cowardly deserter gives him a sensitivity that makes this relationship more interesting. Cage isn’t just learning about how to fight in a mech-suit and pick up clues about alien biology, but also how to improve himself and reflect on his life choices. He’s forced to open up to Rita and finds a newfound respect for the soldiers he wouldn’t have thought twice about before. There are some quiet moments of intimacy in which we see how much Cage has grown , particularly when Rita reveals how she was once caught in a traumatic moment, reliving the death of her lover.

The 10 Best Tom Cruise Action Movies, Ranked

Edge of Tomorrow was an anomaly for many reasons. Although it was loosely based on the graphic novel All You Need Is Kill , it felt like a completely original work of science fiction that didn’t intend to start a franchise or launch a universe. Those looking for a generic sci-fi action movie may have been surprised to find a surprisingly earnest, hilarious, and emotional story about the planet’s most unexpected hero. Through Cage's unexpected journey in Edge of Tomorrow , Tom Cruise manages to convince us that he’s still a hero — he just has to learn how to be.

Edge of Tomorrow is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.

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March 26, 2024 - Baltimore Key Bridge collapses after ship collision

By Helen Regan , Kathleen Magramo , Antoinette Radford, Alisha Ebrahimji , Maureen Chowdhury , Rachel Ramirez , Elise Hammond , Aditi Sangal , Tori B. Powell , Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and Kathleen Magramo , CNN

Our live coverage of the Baltimore bridge collapse has moved here .

Crew member on DALI said everyone on board was safe hours after bridge collapse, official says

From CNN’s Amy Simonson

A crew member on the DALI cargo ship sent a message hours after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed Tuesday saying everybody on board was safe, according to Apostleship of the Sea director Andy Middleton.

Middleton, who spent time with the captain of the DALI Monday, told CNN’s Laura Coates he reached out to a crew member after hearing about the incident Tuesday morning. 

He said there were 22 members aboard the ship from India who were setting sail earlier Tuesday morning and were heading toward Sri Lanka.

“I was able to reach out to a crew member very early this morning around 5:30 (a.m. ET) or 6 (a.m. ET) and get a message to them asking if they were OK,” he said. “That crew member responded within just a few minutes advising that the crew was safe, and everybody that [was] on board was safe.”

Middleton was told by the ship's captain Monday that the vessel was going to take a longer route to avoid risks along the Yemen coast.

“When I was out with the captain yesterday, we were talking while we were driving, and he advised that they were sailing down and around the tip of South Africa in order to avoid the incidents that are going on off the Yemen coast, and it was a safer way to go,” he said.

Middleton said the  Apostleship of the Sea  is a ministry to seafarers with members that spend time in the port and on the vessels as a friendly face to the seafarers that visit the Port of Baltimore, “taking care of their needs to make sure that they're reminded of their God-given human dignity when they're here in Baltimore.”

Search operation ends in "heartbreaking conclusion," Maryland governor says. Here's the latest

From CNN staff

Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning. The collapse came after a 984-foot cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore told reporters Tuesday evening it's a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day."

Late Tuesday, it was discovered that two of the construction workers who went missing after the bridge collapsed were from Guatemala , the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said late Tuesday.

Here's what you should know to get up to speed:

• The victims: Eight people were on the bridge  when it fell, according to officials. At least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and was later  discharged , fire official and the medical center said.
• The incident: Video shows the moment the entire bridge structure falls into the water, as the ship hits one of the bridge's pillars. CNN analysis shows that the  ships lights flickered  and it veered off course before it hit the bridge. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the crew on the ship were able to issue a "mayday" before colliding into the bridge, which allowed the authorities to stop incoming traffic from going onto the bridge.
• Response efforts: Earlier, dive teams from various state and local agencies were brought in to assist in search-and-rescue operations, according to Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr.. The mission started with 50 personnel and continued to grow before the Coast Guard announced Tuesday evening that it was suspending its active search-and-rescue operation and transitioning to a "different phase."
• The investigation: Authorities are still working to establish exactly how the crash occurred. The National Transportation Safety Board will look into  how the bridge was built  and investigate the structure itself. It will "take time to dig through" whether the bridge had ever been  flagged for any safety deficiencies , NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said.
• Rebuilding the bridge: US Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the path to rebuilding the bridge will be "long and expensive." Senior White House adviser Tom Perez told reporters Tuesday “it’s too early” to tell how long it will take to rebuild the bridge. President Joe Biden said Tuesday he wants the federal government to bear the full cost of rebuilding the collapsed bridge, noting that it will not wait for the company who owns the container ship DALI to shoulder the costs. Funding could come from the Federal Highway Administration as well as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but it may require additional funding from Congress.

2 of the missing construction workers from bridge collapse were from Guatemala, foreign ministry says

From CNN’s Allison Gordon, Flora Charner and Amy Simonson

Two of the construction workers missing from the bridge collapse in Baltimore were from Guatemala, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Tuesday.

Those missing included a 26-year-old originally from San Luis, Petén. The other is a 35-year-old from Camotán, Chiquimula, the statement said.

The ministry said both were part of a work team “repairing the asphalt on the bridge at the time of the accident.”

The statement did not name the two people missing, but it said the country’s consul general in Maryland “went to the area where the families of those affected are located,” where he hopes to be able to meet with the brothers of both missing people.

The consulate   also issued a statement Tuesday saying its consul general in Maryland "remains in contact with local authorities," and also confirmed that two of those missing "were of Guatemalan origin.”

Six people, who were believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead after Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday morning when a cargo ship hit the bridge's pillar.

State and federal officials have not released information about the identities of any of the six missing workers.

Underwater mapping of bridge collapse area to begin Wednesday, Baltimore fire chief says

From CNN's Jennifer Henderson

Search operations near the Key Bridge collapse have shut down for the night due to dangerous conditions, but the process of underwater mapping with many local, state and federal dive teams will begin Wednesday, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace told CNN’s Anderson Cooper Tuesday night.

Wallace said the portion of the Patapsco River is “tidal influenced, so it goes through tide cycles just like the open waters of the Chesapeake Bay does.”

The water depths in the area under the bridge vary from 40 feet to more than 60 feet, Wallace said. The deeper the divers go, the colder the temperatures they encounter, and the visibility is zero, he added.

 Wallace said when crews arrived Tuesday morning, the surface water temperatures of the Patapsco River were about 47 degrees with an air temperature of 44-45 degrees.

Here's what you should know about the historic Francis Scott Key Bridge

The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed early Tuesday after a massive container ship lost power and crashed into the iconic Baltimore bridge, sending people and vehicles into the frigid Patapsco River.

Six people, believed to be part of a road construction crew, are presumed dead and the Coast Guard has ended its active search and rescue mission.

Here's what you should know about the historic bridge:

• How old?: The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also referred to as just the Key Bridge, opened to traffic in March 1977 and is the final link in the Baltimore Beltway, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA.) It crosses over the 50-foot-deep Patapsco River, where former US attorney Francis Scott Key found inspiration to write the lyrics to the Star Spangled Banner, the MDTA says.
• How long?: The bridge was 1.6 miles long when standing, MDTA reports.
• Traffic volume: More than 30,000 people commuted daily on the bridge, according to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
• How much did it cost?: The bridge cost $60.3 million to build, MDTA says. Since its collapse, President Joe Biden said he’s committed to helping rebuild the bridge as soon as possible.
• About the port: Baltimore ranks as the ninth biggest US port for international cargo. It handled a record 52.3 million tons, valued at $80.8 billion, in 2023. According to the Maryland state government, the port supports 15,330 direct jobs and 139,180 jobs in related services.
• About the ship: The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. Dali is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk . The ship is about 984 feet long , according to MarineTraffic data. That’s the length of almost three football fields.

Baltimore woman says bridge collapse was "like a piece of family dissolved"

From CNN's Kit Maher

For longtime Baltimore resident, Ceely, who opted not to share her last name, seeing footage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse  Tuesday was deeply personal.

“I was very heavy-hearted,” Ceely told CNN. “Very tearful, thinking about the families whose loved ones may be in the water and just remembering when the bridge was constructed, and it was just like a piece of family dissolved.”

Ceely was at a prayer group Tuesday morning when she saw the news. She recalled being afraid when she first crossed the bridge while in Ford Maverick in 1975, but grew to like it because it saved time on the road.

“It was a main artery just like a blood line. It was a main artery to the other side of town. It was awesome. It beat going through the city all the time,” she said.

Elder Rashad A. Singletary , a senior pastor who led Tuesday night’s vigil at Mt. Olive Baptist Church told CNN that many church members watched the bridge's construction.

"It’s a part of the community. A lot of our individuals in our congregation drive that bridge to go to work, and so now it’s really a life changing moment,” he said.

"Heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day," Maryland governor says as Coast Guard ended search operation

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

More than 18 hours after the collapse of the Baltimore bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said it was a heartbreaking conclusion after the Coast Guard ended the search-and-rescue operation for the six people who were on the bridge when it collapsed.

It's a "really heartbreaking conclusion to a challenging day," he said.

"We put every single asset possible — air, land and sea" to find the missing people, he told reporters on Tuesday evening. "While even though we're moving on now to a recovery mission, we're still fully committed to making sure that we're going to use every single asset to now bring a sense of closure to the families," the governor added.

6 people presumed dead after Baltimore bridge collapse, Coast Guard says. Here's what we know

As the sun sets in Baltimore, six people are presumed dead after a major bridge collapsed overnight Tuesday, according to the Coast Guard. The Francis Scott Key Bridge came down around 1:30 a.m. ET after a cargo ship collided with it.

The Coast Guard said it has ended its active search-and-rescue operation for the missing construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed.

• What we know: Eight people were on the bridge when it fell, according to officials. At least two people were rescued — one was taken to the hospital and has been discharged . The Coast Guard has been searching for six other people. But, around 7:30 p.m. ET, the Coast Guard said it has transitioned to a “different phase” of operation, now it did “not believe we are going to find any of these individuals alive,” Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.
• About the ship: The bridge collapsed after a container vessel called Dali collided with one of its supports. The vessel is operated by Singapore-based Synergy Group but had been chartered to carry cargo by Danish shipping giant Maersk . The US Embassy in Singapore has been in contact with the country’s Maritime and Port Authority, a State Department spokesperson said.
• The investigation: The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the collapse. A team of 24 experts will dig into nautical operations, vessel operations, safety history records, owners, operators, company policy and any safety management systems or programs, said NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. A voyage data recorder will be critical to the investigation, she added. 
• Vehicles on the bridge: Officials are also working to verify the numbers of how many cars and people were on the bridge, Homendy said. Gov. Wes Moore said the quick work of authorities in closing the bridge had saved lives . Radio traffic captured how authorities stopped traffic and worked to clear the bridge seconds before the impact . Maryland State Police Secretary Col. Roland L. Butler Jr. said there is a “ distinct possibility ” more vehicles were on the bridge, but authorities have not found any evidence to support that.
• Looking ahead: NTSB will look into how the bridge was built and investigate the structure itself, including if it was flagged for any safety deficiencies , Homendy said. The federal government has also directed its resources to help with search and rescue, to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge, Vice President Kamala Harris said . Earlier, President Joe Biden said t he federal government will pay to fix the bridge.
• The economy: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned the collapse will have a serious impact on supply chains . Until the channel is reopened, ships will likely already be changing course for other East Coast ports. Ocean carriers are already being diverted from the Port of Baltimore, where the bridge collapsed, to the Port of Virginia to “keep trade moving."

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