Realm-Breaker
Sometimes known as Were-Breaker/Cunning Linguist
one of the best movies!
Warner Bros.ā Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy got a nice press release out of giving Tom Cruise an office on the lot. But beyond making their boss David Zaslav (and CAA) smile, what did Warners actually achieve in the deal?
The āstrategic partnershipā with Cruise is not exclusive, nor is it a first-look deal. Heās tied up on Paramountās Mission: Impossible 8 for the rest of this year. And it hasnāt been reported yet, but Top Gun: Maverick co-writer Ehren Kruger is now officially at work on a follow-up to the 2022 megahit that will reunite Cruise with co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell, as well as producers Jerry Bruckheimer and David Ellison, and Joe Kosinski will either direct or produce.
If that script comes together as expected, it could be Cruiseās next movie after M:I 8, or he might first do the Doug Liman space movie at Universal, which is still in active development (though NASA is involved, so who knows about the timing there). Either of those would push any Warners projects with Cruise into late 2025, 2026, or beyond.
The question for Warners: Outside of his active franchises, is Tom Cruise still Tom Cruise?
Maybe. Heās still got huge international star value, which most studios wouldnāt bet against. But heās expensive, aging, and he hasnāt made an original movie since 2017ās American Made, which grossed just $134 million worldwide. And before that it was The Mummy and the Jack Reacher sequel, both of which disappointed. Kim Masters reported that the Warners deal comes with a green light on an unidentified thriller or a big-budget action franchise starter.
Sure, fine. But at 61, Cruise would probably benefit from pairing a surefire winner in Top Gun 3 with something like what Robert Downey Jr. found in Oppenheimer: a showy character role in a filmmaker-driven pic that reminds everyone the franchise guy is a great actorāand paves the way for the next 15 years of his career.
Maybe thatās what De Luca and Abdy have in mind. More likely, the W.B. execs and Cruise just want an Edge of Tomorrow prequel or Risky Business 2.