Christopher McQuarrie, director of both Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two, shared a first-look photo at a stunt performed by franchise star, Tom Cruise.

To celebrate Cruise's 60th birthday, the director shared a behind-the-scenes image of the Mission: Impossible actor hanging off the side of a red biplane. The stunt will likely be seen in either Paramount Pictures' upcoming Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, which is due in theaters in 2023, or its sequel, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two, which will hit theaters in 2024. Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt for both installments in the franchise.

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In terms of stunts, Cruise stated in August 2021 that Dead Reckoning Part One will feature, what he called, "the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted." The stunt in question was shown in the recently released first trailer for the upcoming action film, which saw Cruise driving a motorcycle off of a cliff before letting go and freefalling before deploying his parachute. "I had to get so good at this so there's no way I miss my mark," Cruise explained. According to the actor, his preparation for the death-defying stunt involved skydiving 500 times and performing 13,000 motorcycle jumps.

Significant Delays

Details regarding the plot of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One are being kept tightly under wraps, though the film has experienced significant delays due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Originally intended to release in theaters in July 2021, Paramount Pictures would later delay the film's release until 2023.

The seventh Mission: Impossible movie will now officially hit theaters in July 2023, despite a reported dispute between Cruise and Paramount Pictures regarding the film's distribution. Cruise reportedly held M:I 7 "hostage" until most of M: I 8 was completed, as a way to express his displeasure about Paramount's plans for a 45 day theatrical release before making the transition to Paramount+. This would be a significantly shorter theatrical release window than the usual three month run for previous films in the Mission: Impossible franchsie, which Cruise claims is a violation of his contract with Paramount.

Directed and written by McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One stars Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Ving Rhames Simon Pegg, Esai Morales and Cary Elwes. The film is set to hits theaters on July 14, 2023.

Source: Twitter