Tom Cruise isn’t ruling out a Les Grossman movie, now that his Mission: Impossible work is pretty much complete. More here.
Straight up front: that’s not a clickbait headline. It is a story about the tiniest of hints. Nothing more, nothing less.
Back in 2008, Tom Cruise did something it’s hard for one of the most famous actors in the world to do: he appeared by surprise in a movie. It was in the film Tropic Thunder, directed by Ben Stiller, with Cruise appearing under prosthetics as studio executive Les Grossman.
The character is one that Cruise has talked about with fondness, and at various times in the 17 years since, there’s been chat about a spin-off movie for him.
Lest we forget too, he danced for the film’s ending as well. Here’s a refresher, with some fruity language involved…
Separately, it’s unlike to have escaped your notice that Cruise is currently on the press tour for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which has including an extended in-conversation-with event at the BFI in London.
That session has now gone online, and as the event is wrapping up, Cruise is asked by host Edith Bowman specifically as to whether the Les Grossman film is still a thing. It’s around the 57-minute mark and can be found on YouTube.
Read more: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review | There will be explaining
Cruise’s exact comment on this is brief, but it’s interesting he doesn’t shut it down. “We’re talking about it”, he quietly says, gesturing towards his team in the audience. He then talks specifically about a desire to work with Ben Stiller again, “we’re big fans of Ben Stiller, he’s so talented. You look at what he’s doing as a director, and the things he’s created… he’s a good friend.”
I know. It’s a news story off the back of a small comment, but it ties into Ben Stiller saying at the start of 2025 that there have been conversations about a Len film over the years. At that point, he said there was nothing in the works, but Cruise isn’t quite saying that.
It might be something, might be nothing. But it’s definitely worth checking the full BFI session out.
