One of the biggest reasons why the industry always seeks out Tom Cruise for any film project that requires a star cast is because of his sheer star power and the amount of influence that he has both within and beyond the industry. And if he genuinely likes or is interested in any project that is proposed to him, he goes out of his way to make sure it becomes a success.
But it’s also true that when a project seems to deviate from what the star had envisioned for it, especially if he’s the one in charge of it, then he’ll do everything in his power to ensure that problem is sorted out as soon as possible. Paramount Pictures learned this the hard way when they wanted to limit the theatrical release window of Top Gun: Maverick to just 45 days, and the star was ready to take legal action if necessary.
Tom Cruise Was Ready For Legal War With Paramount Pictures On Their Decision For Top Gun: Maverick
One of the biggest strengths of having a star as prolific and iconic as Tom Cruise on any cinematic project is the sheer publicity that it would receive from the world with his star power. Along with that, he’s also one of the most experienced actors in the industry, which also provides the project with deep insights and wisdom while the production is in process, making a good film even better.
But if that project is on its way to making a mistake or taking a decision that could adversely affect it, he’ll also be the one to take corrective measures, no matter how hard they would have to be.
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Thus, when Paramount Pictures wanted to make a decision that would limit the theatrical run in 2022 for his then-upcoming sequel film Top Gun: Maverick to only 45 days in cinemas, which was proposed to him a year prior (via The Hollywood Reporter), he had no choice but to bring in his legal team to sort this out. He did not want the film to be limited to just a month and a half in theatres since he had unshaken faith in the potential it had.
And just like always, he was right on the money, all the $1.5 billion that the film earned at the box office. But this, too, had its problems, as in 2021, the limited theatrical release window was a compromise on Paramount’s part since they had planned to release the film on their streaming platform initially.
Therefore, the star fought tooth and nail for the film to be released in theatres, even if it had to be postponed a whole another year for it to happen.
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Tom Cruise Makes a Deal With Warner Bros.
It seems like the aforementioned events may have left a bad taste in the star’s mouth, which is why he had recently made a deal with Warner Bros. to make all his projects going forward with them.
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The tensions between Paramount and Cruise started to rise when it was reported by the studio that the star would often change scenes and narratives of Mission: Impossible- Dead Reckoning Part One on the dime, which not only increased the budget of the film, but also led to the release date be postponed on four separate occasions. Thus, it seems like Cruise may be finding a new home for his cinematic endeavors in the future.
Top Gun: Maverick: streaming on Paramount+.
