Top Gun: Maverick star Tom Cruise shifts away from his usual action hero roles, as he will take part in a musical stage performance based on Disney's The Lion King sketch to help send off James Corden's long-running late night TV series.
The Late Late Show With James Corden confirmed Cruise will suit up as the entertaining warthog Pumbaa during The Lion King at Hollywood's Pantages Theater. He will appear alongside Corden, who plays Pumbaa's mischievous meerkat friend Timon, in a segment that will air during the talk show's primetime special, The Last Last Late Late Show. The special premieres on CBS and Paramount+ just before the final episode of Corden's show, which comes to a close after eight seasons.
Cruise has been on The Late Late Show multiple times, including last year to promote Maverick. He and Corden donned their costumes to plug The Lion King-themed segment via The Late Late Show's Instagram. Corden has hosted The Late Late Show since it premiered on CBS in March 2015. Reportedly, it will be succeeding by Stephen Colbert's @midnight reboot.
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Dressing up in a Pumbaa suit is a change of pace for an actor who has made his living in action and drama roles such as the Mission: Impossible franchise, Jack Reacher and Magnolia. Meanwhile, Corden has featured in various animated and live-action movies including Cats, Cinderella, Ocean's 8 and Peter Rabbit.
Cruise's Maverick has been a major success since its theatrical debut last spring, becoming the second-highest-grossing film released in 2022 (behind Avatar: The Way of Water) and being named the best movie of the year by some notable reviewers, including Rotten Tomatoes. Maverick features in six categories at the 95th Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Visual Effects. It also earned two Golden Globe nods and has won 45 awards since its release.
The success generated by Maverick has already led to talk about a potential Top Gun 3, though producer Jerry Bruckheimer claims he has yet to engage with Cruise regarding that prospect. Cruise is next set to reprise his role as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One alongside Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Rebecca Ferguson, with the latest Mission: Impossible sequel set to hit theaters on Jul. 14.
Fans can watch The Last Last Late Late Show primetime special featuring Cruise and Corden's performance via CBS and Paramount+ at 10 p.m. ET on Apr. 26 before the final episode of The Late Late Show airs at 12:37 a.m. ET on Apr. 27. In the meantime, viewers can stream Maverick via Paramount+ or Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Late Late Show With James Corden via The Hollywood Reporter