Tom Cruise’s on-set injury forces long ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ production delay

By Stephanie Topacio Long August 16, 2017

Mission: Impossible 6 — Featureflash / Shutterstock.com

The fictional Ethan Hunt may be able to consistently pull off the impossible, but the actor who plays him, Tom Cruise, is only human. The action star was shooting Mission: Impossible 6 this week when he suffered a broken ankle during an on-set accident. Production is on hold while he recovers — a process that could take between six weeks and three months, according to Variety sources.

Cruise was filming M:I 6 in London on Sunday when he injured himself. As a TMZ video showed Monday, the actor was trying to jump onto a building from some rigging but didn’t quite make it. He collided hard with the building, which evidently caused his broken ankle.

Paramount Pictures later confirmed the injury and said production will go on hiatus until the actor recovers. The studio didn’t provide an exact timeline, but Variety’s insiders indicate it could take up to three months for the actor to heal. One source said Cruise’s hip was hurt as well, but it sounds like the broken ankle is the more serious of the injuries.

The good news is that even with the delay in production, Paramount Pictures does not anticipate having to push back the film’s release date.

“Production will go on hiatus while Tom makes a full recovery, and the film remains on schedule to open July 27, 2018,” the studio said in a statement. “Tom wants to thank you all for your concern and support, and [he] can’t wait to share the film with everyone next summer.”

One issue to consider is how the accident will affect Cruise’s future stunt work. The actor has long been known for taking on challenging scenes. An injury like this could dampen his enthusiasm, or perhaps make studios more wary of risking the well-being of a film’s star.

Accidents aren’t as uncommon as we’d like them to be. In fact, there have been multiple serious injuries to stunt people recently, including two tragic deaths — one on the set of Deadpool 2 this week and another on The Walking Dead set in mid-July. Cruise is very lucky indeed that a broken ankle is the worst of his problems.

Mission: Impossible 6 hits theaters July 27, 2018.

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Stephanie Topacio Long

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Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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