Cannes 2025: will Tom Cruise be on the Croisette to promote Mission Impossible 8?

Violaine Schütz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRUfxseMlbg

 

Will Tom Cruise present his final spectacular adventure at the Cannes Film Festival?

Following his headline-making appearance at the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Tom Cruise, now 62, continues to show that retirement is not on his radar. He returns to action in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, set to hit theaters on May 21, 2025. The spectacular trailer shows him sprinting full speed, diving deep underwater, and engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat—proof that he’s still going strong.

This film may well be Ethan Hunt’s final mission. The premise? It boils down to a single line: “Our lives are the sum of our choices.” While little is known about this latest chapter in the franchise, many speculate—given the release date—that this final adventure could premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, running from May 13 to 24, 2025. In that case, Tom Cruise and his co-stars (Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) would likely walk the Croisette to promote it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsQgc9pCyDU

Mission: Impossible 8… Epic and dangerous stunts, a Tom Cruise trademark

Expect a warm reception for this new installment, which promises to be even more packed with jaw-dropping stunts than the first part. One major reason behind the success—and longevity—of the Mission: Impossible franchise, which has grossed over $3.5 billion since its launch in 1996 under Brian De Palma, lies in its stunts.

Ethan Hunt, the fearless IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agent who races around the globe to save the world, is played by Tom Cruise, a true daredevil who performs the majority of his own stunts. This has become a major marketing hook, as demonstrated in jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes footage.

Over the years, Tom Cruise has hung from dizzying heights, scaled Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, and clung to a plane during takeoff—all for the franchise. In the seventh film, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, released in July 2023, he’s seen escaping a train plunging into a ravine, tearing through city streets in a Fiat 500, fighting off enemies in a tight Italian alleyway, and—as always—running like a madman.

“I was too close to the cliff. I could have died—it came down to the very last second.” – Tom Cruise

But the most unforgettable stunt may be the one where he rides a motorcycle off a steep cliff, parachuting onto the roof of a moving train. A breathtaking feat that nearly cost him his life.

The highest-paid actor of 2022 explained to ET Canada: “I was testing the wind and, as shown in a promo video, I was in the wrong position when I deployed my parachute. I was way too close to the cliff. I could’ve died—it came down to the very last second. I was descending too close to the mountainside. You have to be incredibly meticulous to make sure everything goes right.” A risk that paid off, as the press screening left viewers holding their breath during that sequence, as captivated as wide-eyed children.

For Mission: Impossible 8, Cruise teases an adrenaline-fueled plane chase: “When you stick your head out of a plane at over 200 km/h, you’re not getting any oxygen,” he told Empire. “I had to train to breathe. There were moments I was literally blacking out—unable to get back into the cockpit.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: a complex tale of the dangers of the modern world

While we wait to see that new aerial stunt, it’s worth revisiting Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, released in July 2023. “The world is changing, truth is fading, war is on our doorstep.” That ominous line isn’t from a news bulletin but from the film itself. In this chapter, Ethan Hunt and his IMF teammates—IT experts and agents—pursue an enemy as elusive as it is terrifying: an enigmatic artificial intelligence known as “The Entity,” which, in the wrong hands, could plunge the world into digital chaos.

At a time when all anyone talks about is ChatGPT and the rise of algorithms, the action-adventure-spy saga smartly dives headfirst into the modern tech conversation. And while the plot can be hard to follow—thanks to a crowded cast and cryptic CIA jargon—the film’s “Matrix-like” vibes are appreciated. It doesn’t just aim to entertain, but also to spark thought about illusions, simulations, and the digital grip on our lives, in a world ruled by Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, and the like.

Fierce and powerful female leads, played by Hayley Atwell and Vanessa Kirby

Alongside Tom Cruise—aging but still determined to make Mission: Impossible films into his 80s—the female characters shine brightly in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Ethan Hunt falls under the spell of Grace, a cunning, witty, and charismatic thief played by the irresistible Anglo-American actress Hayley Atwell (Avengers: Endgame, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Their dynamic, from escapades to high-speed chases, lends the film a touch of romantic comedy and offbeat charm.

 

Pom Klementieff as a rock’n’roll-looking assassin

Ethan Hunt can also count, in his battle against the Entity, on the strength and bravery of Ilsa Faust (the effortlessly chic and endearing Rebecca Ferguson, seen in Dune). And when it comes to antagonists, he’s up against the wild Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby, star of the excellent Pieces of a Woman and recently seen in Napoleon) and the rock’n’roll, circus-styled assassin Paris (French actress Pom Klementieff, straight out of Guardians of the Galaxy).

While the male villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) falls flat, the badass heroines of this seventh installment hint at a second round—The Final Reckoning, slated for next spring—that promises to be as thrilling and romantic as a James Bond.

Mission : Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) by Christopher McQuarrie, with Tom Cruise, in theaters on 21st of may 2025.