Tom Cruise will 'fly into space' to shoot Nasa-backed film

Tom Cruise is set to be space-bound for his new film project.

Teaming up with Elon Musk, the 58-year-old Mission Impossible star is getting ready for lift-off alongside Edge of Tomorrow’s director Doug Liman to film shots for an as-yet untitled film.

Cruise and Liman will reportedly make the trip to the International Space Station next year in the Axiom Space Crew Dragon capsule – a space shuttle owned by Musk – for the Nasa-backed project, reports Space Shuttle Almanac.

Should the project go ahead, the film will be the first ever narrative feature to be filmed in space.

Liman is also thought to be writing the script, with Universal Pictures having committed $200 million (£151.5 million) towards production, according to Deadline.

The project was first announced by Nasa in May last year where administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted: “Nasa is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station!

“We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA’s ambitious plans a reality.”

Christopher McQuarrie who is the writer/director on the Mission: Impossible films, will act as story advisor and producer, alongside Cruise, Liman and PJ van Sandwijk as producers.

The film was commissioned after the foursome pitched to Universal in an “exuberant Zoom call.”

Cruise’s next film is the hotly-anticipated seventh instalment to the Mission Impossible franchise – currently still filming after the project faced ongoing delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cruise will also be promoting the similarly delayed Top Gun: Maverick film, which is set for release in December after being pushed back from its initial summer release.