Before Avatar: The Way of Water has the chance to overtake Top Gun: Maverick as the highest-grossing film of the year, Tom Cruise decided to thank fans for showing up by giving them a little preview of one of his death-defying stunts from the upcoming Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.
Hanging off the side of a plane over the beaches of South Africa, Cruise says he “didn’t want the year to end without thanking you all for coming out to the theaters and thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick.”
At that point, director Christopher McQuarrie taps him on the shoulder to let him know it’s time to “get this shot” of him jumping out of the plane. After McQuarrie wishes him luck, Cruise starts falling towards the earth as he continues, casually, “Where was I? Oh yeah. Thank you for supporting Top Gun: Maverick and, as always, thank you for allowing us to entertain you. It truly is the honor of a lifetime.”
“I’m running out of altitude, so I’ve got to get back to work. We’ve got to get this shot,” he says. “You have a very safe and happy holiday, we’ll see you at the movies.”
The promotional clip ends with the news that Top Gun: Maverick, which remained in theaters for months after its summer release, will finally be available to stream on Paramount+ this Thursday, December 22nd. Cruise, who will receive the Producer’s Guild of America David O. Selznick Achievement Award for his work on the film, is also angling for Best Picture and Best Actor nominations at next year’s Oscars.
