The Mission: Impossible franchise has been spawning movies since the late 90s. The first movie starring Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt was released all the way back in 1996. Since then, there have been six more installments, with the eigth and last part set to release in May 2025.
Every movie has only managed to gain more and more love from the fans, and the respect for Tom Cruise and his dedication to his craft only add to this. The fact that the actor does all his stunts on his own is probably one of the biggest draws of the whole franchise. But given he never hesitates to try on new things, it just makes things that much more interesting – both for the audiences as well as the people who work behind the scenes.
Mission: Impossible Stunt Coordinator Is All Praises For Tom Cruise
The Mission: Impossible movies have had many new and innovative scenes in all these years when it comes to action and the stunts performed. And these scenes don’t just pop out of the head of the director or the actor all the time. There is a well-oiled stunt coordination team that works behind the scenes to make sure everything goes smoothly, even if Tom Cruise sometimes just says ‘eh’ and ends up doing what he wants anyway.
Stunt coordinator Wate Eastwood has been with the Mission: Impossible franchise since 2015’s Rogue Nation. He has seen Cruise not just go about film scenes involving high-speed chases but also helped him perform the crazyness that was hanging off the walls of an airplane. And while working with Cruise and seeing his character of Ethan Hunt go through all that he does, Eastwood (like the audience) has gained immense respect for the actor as well as his character.
Talking to The Credits, the second unit director and stunt choreographer of Mission: Impossible said,
“Ethan Hunt is all about doing the right thing — looking after his team, saving his team and loved ones, and protecting the world from disaster.” He further added, “He would jump off a cliff to save someone and then figure out how to save himself. They respect and admire that.”
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Eastwood, thus, helps Cruise with the best possible stunts that can be crafted for a specific scene while making them look the coolest. And that is what keeps us, the audience, at the edge of our seats the whole time we are watching these movies.
Henry Cavill-Tom Cruise Went Way Back In Time For Fallout
For Mission: Impossible- Fallout, fans had double the fun. Not only did Tom Cruise wow us with his charms and daring actions, but this time, he had a partner who was there to stand by him through each and every step. Henry Cavill joined the cast of Fallout as August Walker – the betrayer.
There is a scene in the movie where the duo fights against a bad guy in a bathroom. But the twist in the story is that the bad guy is no ordinary man but a real-life Wushu champion. Liang Yang, who worked as a stuntman in the movie, gave his all while fighting against Cruise and Cavill in the bathroom brawl, and stunt coordinator Eastwood had the perfect opportunity to use a 4000 years old ancient martial art form.
“Wushu is one of my favorites. It’s like a dance, just mesmerizing, and Liang’s style is fluid and intensely beautiful. For that sequence, I wanted a hard, grungy fight but with traces of Wushu. Throwing that wildcard into the mix meant that August and Ethan had to adapt their fighting styles.”
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This led to one of the most intense fight scenes in the entirety of the Mission: Impossible movies, and audiences got to enjoy seeing Cruise’s Ethan and Cavill’s August flex some action muscles.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is available for streaming on Paramount Plus.
