Tom Cruise thanks Top Gun: Maverick fans while jumping out of a plane

Tom Cruise is thanking his fans by doing what he does best: Putting his life at risk.
The actor shared a jaw-dropping video on social media from the set of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, in which he thanked fans for supporting Top Gun: Maverick … while falling through the air.
"I didn't want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theater, and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick," Cruise says from a plane before he proceeds to jump out of it and free fall. The camera continues following Cruise on the way down.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Where was I?" he says mid-air. "Oh yeah, thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick."
After explaining he's "running out of altitude," he also wishes fans a "very safe and happy holiday." The video ends with an advertisement for Top Gun: Maverick's Dec. 22 Paramount+ streaming debut. The sequel is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2022.
Cruise then followed this up by sharing another Mission: Impossible behind-the-scenes video, this one teasing what Paramount dubbed the "biggest stunt in cinema history" on Dead Reckoning Part One. It involved Cruise driving a motorcycle off a cliff into a base jump, which he said he wanted to do "since I was a little kid" and took years of planning. Director Christopher McQuarrie called the stunt "far and away the most dangerous thing we've ever attempted."
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One hits theaters in July 2023.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster show
Speed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own room
Speed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talks
Speed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tour
Speed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamation
Speed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia