Tom Cruise appears to be living his best Final Destination life these days, cheating death as many times as he can with his outrageous movie stunts. Case in point: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which this time around features the megastar in an underwater feat that director Christopher McQuarrie calls “terrifying.” Speaking with Empire ahead of the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning on May 23, 2025, McQuarrie touched on the underwater stunt, which was filmed in an 8.5 million-liter water tank and sees Cruise exploring the wreckage of the Sevastopol submarine from the previous film.
The crew was able to rotate the entire set, and the director described the moment as “so challenging and so terrifying” to shoot for Cruise, who faced immense pressure during the stunt. “He’s in a rotating structure filled with debris, and you had to find a way to make that environment look as chaotic and unhinged as humanly possible, but in a way that you could repeat, and that Tom could navigate, and survive. If anyone can do it, Tom Cruise can. Mission accomplished,” McQuarrie explained.
For nearly three decades, Tom Cruise has been defying gravity with his daredevil role as spy Ethan Hunt in the epic ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise. Cruise will once more take on the role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt in The Final Reckoning, which has yet to be confirmed as the last movie in the long-running franchise, meaning there is a chance we could see him return at some point down the road. This latest installment features newcomers Nick Offerman and Katy O’Brian, as well as familiar faces like Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Vanessa Kirby.
As if being spun around and around while underwater and dealing with a barrage of debris pummeling his body wasn’t enough, Cruise mentioned that the stunt in The Final Reckoning had him facing another obstacle: breathing in his own carbon dioxide. Inhaling too much CO2 can lead to a range of health issues, including headaches, dizziness, and confusion. “I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide. It builds up in the body and affects the muscles. You have to overcome all of that while you’re doing it, and be present,” Cruise said.
Despite these challenges, Cruise emerged from this terrifying underwater stunt unscathed, adding another incredible achievement to his long list of death-defying feats. Past stunts include hanging off the side of a moving airplane, biking off a cliff into a parachute drop, jumping off the roof of the Stade de France, and climbing the world’s tallest building. The audiences can witness how the underwater sequence all comes together when Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23.
For a refresher course before its premiere, fans can catch up with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning streaming now on Prime Video, Paramount+, or MGM+. If you want to relive where it all began, the original 1996 action classic is available to stream on Paramount+.
