Cannes 2025: Tom Cruise returns with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, chats about death-defying aerial sequence: 'Trained pilots to...'

Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick had received a five-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival in 2022. The star - who made a grand entry with fighter jets zooming over the popular venue expelling smoke in red and blue to match French flag's colours - was moved to tears when he saw the reactions to his film during its screening. Three years later, Tom returns to the prestigious film festival with his latest MI installment, Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning.

As reported by Variety, Tom Cruise left fans surprised when he appeared at Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday for a TikTok creator workshop. According to reports, the megastar previewed some of the "never done" stunts in Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning. Tom also joined TikTok creator Reece Feldman for a chat, and left around 25 creators attending the festival surprised. Reece will be premiering his first narrative short, Wait, Your Car?, at a special TikTok event during the festival. Tom's The Final Reckoning will debut out of competition on May 14. On being asked by Reece about the death-defying aerial sequence shot for the film, Tom said he used his "decades of knowledge" flying planes.

"I'm an aerobatic pilot being able to fly these airplanes, so I now choose the airplane and present it what colors should they be, what engineers do I have building this aircraft and working on the engines and how far can I push that aircraft?" he was quoted as saying by the Variety.

The Oscar-nominated actor also mentioned that he wanted to "go zero-G" as he walked between the wings of the airplane, which posed a few logistical challenges. "I'm going, how long can I hold the airplane in an inverted position? The engine stops after a few seconds because it's not a fuel injection, so I know the engine's going to stop," he said. "So what we have to do is just take our time, and I'm just approaching it step by step," he said. Even though Tom hired "incredible" pilots for the shot, he also "had to train them how to fly the airplane with me on the wing."

Ahead of the world premiere of Mission Impossible - The Final Reckoning at Cannes 2025, Tom was in London where he was honored with the prestigious BFI Fellowship. The Hollywood star had also climbed onto the roof of the city's massive IMAX movie theater for his upcoming film.

Tom Cruise standing on top of the BFI IMAX theater. pic.twitter.com/yuMThms8tD

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 11, 2025

Going by the early reviews, the film has impressed critics, courtesy its impressive stunts and high-octane action.