Tom Cruise’s Airplane Stunt in ‘Mission: Impossible’ Was Inspired by a TikTok Video
While Tom Cruise has pulled off his fair share of incredible stunts over the span of his career, the work he’s done in the Mission: Impossible series is tough to top.
Specifically, Cruise truly pulled out all the stops for the most recent release, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Among the stunts that left fans in awe was the one featured on many promotional photos for the movie, which showed Cruise dangling from an airplane high in the sky.
While the stunt has generated plenty of buzz and chatter among fans, the backstory behind how it came together is even more eye-opening.
As director Christopher McQuarrie first revealed to That Shelf, the stunt came together thanks to a TikTok video. According to Culture Crave on X, McQuarrie showed it to Cruise for amusement, and his response was about what you'd expect.
"I foolishly showed Tom [Cruise] a video thinking he'd simply be amused by it ... and he said 'I could do that'," McQuarrie said.
Director Christopher McQuarrie says the plane stunt at the end of #MissionImpossible was inspired by a TikTok video
— Culture Crave ???? (@CultureCrave) June 2, 2025
"I foolishly showed Tom [Cruise] a video thinking he'd simply be amused by it ... and he said 'I could do that'"
(via @ThatShelf) pic.twitter.com/ZWXBRY18Ht
The rest, as they say, is history.
It's not at all surprising that Cruise saw the clip and his mind began to run rampant with the potential use of the stunt in Mission: Impossible. Cruise spoke about how "brutal" the scene was to film, and it sounds just as daunting as you'd expect.
"The wind is hitting you so hard you can't breathe," Cruise said during an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I mean, if you've ever stuck your head out going 140 miles an hour in a car, it hits you. I had to even figure out how to breathe on the wing.”
Related: Tom Cruise Breaks Silence on the Fate of 2 Fan-Favorite Sequels