The actor is reportedly set to blast off to the International Space Station in October 2021, according to a tweet from the Space Shuttle Almanac account. The account tracks the calendar for crews flying up to the ISS, and a new tweet shows Cruise is scheduled on a SpaceX flight along with director Doug Liman.
The two are scheduled for the SpaceX Dragron crew flight under Tourist 1 and Tourist 2, alongside pilot Michael López-Alegría. Liman has the designation "director" next to his name, pointing at the possibility that the duo will be filming once they get to space.
The film is said to be an action adventure, but it reportedly will not be the next installment in Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise. Cruise's longtime collaborator Liman has also worked with the star on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made.
Cruise, 58, is known for his boundary-pushing stunts in his action movies, which he often does himself. The last Mission: Impossible movie, 2018's Fallout, even had to take a break from filming after Cruise broke his ankle while jumping from one rooftop to another.
His plan was first announced in May, with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later confirming the report alongside NASA Administrator James Bridenstine. "NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station! We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA’s ambitious plans a reality," Bridenstine tweeted alongside a picture of the International Space Station.
"Should be a lot of fun!" Musk replied in a tweet. At the historic SpaceX launch later in May, Musk and Bridenstine both spoke about their hopes for sending Cruise to space to shoot a new movie. —People
