An acting career that began at the age of 18 with stage performances soon transformed into one of the most versatile ones in Hollywood as Emily Blunt began showcasing her true potential. Following her breakthrough role in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, the actress turned around her fortune. Additionally, her on-screen charisma and athletic energy helped her land acclaimed roles opposite some of the biggest stalwarts like Tom Cruise.
A 2011 sci-fi thriller opposite Matt Damon gave the actress enough screen time to prove her mettle and star in a major sci-fi flick in 2014 that featured one of the most mind-bending plots. Laced with a unique taste of humor, the Doug Liman directorial proved to be a cult classic despite its modest box office returns, which again, Blunt believed fell way short of her expectations and preparations.
The reason why Tom Cruise approached Emily Blunt for his 2014 sci-fi action
In talks with Deadline back in 2014, the actress opened up on how Tom Cruise decided to have her star alongside him in a leading role as Sergeant Rita Vrataski aka Angel of Verdun aka Full Metal B**tch in the 2014 plot-twist-filled sci-fi Edge of Tomorrow.
Starring as Elise Sellas, Emily Blunt played a free-spirited contemporary dancer who bewitched David Norris, the protagonist of the 2011 thriller The Adjustment Bureau. Recalling a scene in the earlier flick where her character meets Matt Damon’s in a hotel bathroom, sparking chemistry, Blunt believed it to be the very one where the Top Gun actor would have gone like “That’s the girl.”
Adjustment Bureau was different from the full-metal b**ch in Edge of Tomorrow. When I met them in the meeting, Tom said, “It’s going to be really, really fucking hard! I think this might be the hardest action movie that I will ever do”—of course, because of the sheer weight of those Ecto suits we were carrying and moving around in.
Agreeing to the task, The Fall Guy actress left no stone unturned in preparing for the role. In the same round of talks, she revealed taking lessons in martial arts “to look incredibly intimidating and hard-edged and not feminine”. Additionally, in order to represent her helicopter blade-wielding character, she practiced Krav Maga and wushu, to try and be as agile as an athlete.
An Edge of Tomorrow sequel lies in limbo despite satisfactory box office returns
Made on a budget of $178 million, Edge of Tomorrow nearly doubled its returns with a global box office gross of $370 million. However, it fell short of expectations for Emily Blunt, who revealed feeling “sad about” it.
Blaming the lack of marketing concerning the one-of-a-kind time-loop plot and humor, she, although, did hold up the movie in high regard, signaling hopes for a sequel, that has stemmed and dipped frequently ever since the movie’s release.
The movie did end on a somewhat open-ended note, leaving sufficient room for Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt to return in a future installment. Additionally, Doug Liman also hinted at an even bigger return teasing “a sequel that’s a prequel”.
However, all of it has stayed in the doldrums due to scheduling conflicts for the two leads. Yet, with the Mission Impossible star signing on a new deal with Warner Bros., the hopes for an Edge of Tomorrow 2 have all but returned.
Edge of Tomorrow is available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube, and Vudu.
