With projects like Top Gun and Mission: Impossible under his belt, Tom Cruise is one of the most celebrated artists. The Ethan Hunt fame has been a part of numerous critically acclaimed and commercially successful films in his career. The 60-year-old actor also played a significant role in reviving the movies post-pandemic with his Top Gun: Maverick. But Cruise was very close to getting a significant box-office bomb under his name.
John Carter will always be a prominent name in the history of cinema for all the odd reasons. The Disney movie was made for a monstrous $306.6 million and turned out to be a massive disaster earning not more than $284.1 million. Reportedly, Tom Cruise wanted to be a part of this project in the early 90s.
How was Tom Cruise’s career saved from the John Carter debacle?
Disney’s John Carter based on the works of American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs was in production for a long time before it was finally released in 2012. During the 90s when Tom Cruise saw some of his most successful projects, as reported by BuzzFeed, he also wanted to be associated with this sci-fi project. But ultimately, the movie entered production in 2011 and by then Cruise was way older than the desired age of the titular character.
In the final cut of the movie, Taylor Kitsch was spotted in the lead whose earlier projects include X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s Gambit, The Covenant, and Snakes on a Plane. Kitsch, who was 18 years younger than Tom Cruise saved the Valkyrie star from an unremovable spot in his career. Speaking to The Wrap about the casting process, the director Andrew Stanton stated.
“I had Taylor already in mind by the time Tom made his interest known.Tom had a long history with the material, so it wasn’t too surprising to discover he still had interest in it. He was a consummate professional in his discussions with me about the role, and beyond respectful to the fact I was already on an audition path with Taylor.”
It also didn’t lead to any feud or fiasco between the parties but it can’t be denied that Tom Cruise dodged a major blow to his filmography. There are numerous reasons cited for John Carter’s failure one of which is its marketing campaign. The movie which also starred Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, and Mark Strong turned out to be one of the biggest box-office bombs in history.
Following John Carter, Taylor Kitsch was spotted in series like True Detective and The Terminal List with an upcoming Netflix titled Painkiller. On the other hand, Tom Cruise after delivering the $1 billion blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick is all set to feature as Ethan Hunt once again.
Mission: Impossible 7 is going to be a memorable venture
Tom Cruise will soon be spotted once again as the famous IMF agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One. The upcoming addition to the long-running action-thriller franchise is reportedly going to set up one final ride for the spy played by Cruise who is said to be leaving the ship after the last and the eighth part.
Besides boasting of some electrifying stunt on a bike and throwing off a real train from a bridge, the movie will also be the longest project in the franchise. According to recent reports from IGN, the film is of 2 hours and 36 minutes excluding the credits. On top of it, the movie is also bringing in an interesting set of new stars such as the Marvel ladies Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, along with the Ozark actor Esai Morales.
Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One is going to hit theaters on July 12, 2023, while John Carter can be streamed on Disney+.
