Yahoo Movies Tom Cruise could earn almost £50m for movie shooting in space
Tom Cruise is set to earn a huge pay packet of almost £50m for his upcoming movie shot in space.
The star will blast off into orbit for the mysterious new feature, which will be directed by Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow and American Made collaborator Doug Liman.
Cruise and Liman have secured the high-profile backing both of NASA and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, with production set to be housed at the International Space Station.
Read more: Simon Pegg wants to work with Cruise in space
Variety has reported that Universal is circling the costly production, which has set its budget at around $200m (£157m).
Cruise will be paid between $30m-$60m (£24m-£47m) for his role as producer and star, with much of this comprised of a share of first-dollar gross.
Little is currently known about the history-making movie, which will be the first narrative feature film to shoot in outer space.
The project will not be a Mission: Impossible film — despite long-standing rumours about the franchise going to space — but will be an action-adventure story.
Variety’s report notes that, given Cruise’s other commitments and the inherent prep time for this movie, the star could be well over 60 years old by the time he is ready to shoot the film.
Read more: Nathalie Emmanuel says she’ll follow Fast & Furious into space
NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said the film will seek to “inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA’s ambitious plans a reality”.
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. pic.twitter.com/CaPwfXtfUv
— Jim Bridenstine (@JimBridenstine) May 5, 2020
Cruise will soon return to the set of Mission: Impossible to complete the seventh movie in the franchise, which had its principal photography delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The process of shooting the ambitious Christopher McQuarrie actioner is likely to continue until April and May of 2021.
Read more: McQuarrie reveals why Mission: Impossible 7 is two movies
Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down his action man persona, despite the fact he’s now 58 years old and has been acting for almost 40 years.
Now he’s set to boldly go where no Hollywood A-lister has gone before — and make a tonne of cash in the process.
