Tom Cruise’s SpaceX NASA movie is scrapped as he ‘didn’t want to ask a favor’

Five years after news emerged that Tom Cruise was in talks with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and NASA to make a space movie, a new report claims that the project has been scrapped as the Top Gun star didn’t want to call in a “favor” with one particular individual. 

As one of the biggest action movie stars of all time, Tom Cruise has hung off flying planes, climbed the tallest building in the world, and flown real fighter jets – but one thing he’s never done is gone to space. 

However, this was set to change, with a 2020 Deadline report stating that Cruise was collaborating with Musk’s SpaceX and NASA to create the first ever action movie shot in the cosmos, with Edge of Tomorrow’s Doug Liman set to direct. 

It had all the hallmarks of a blockbuster success, with Cruise telling press during the premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 that he was working on it. But a new update suggests the project will no longer lift off. 

Tom Cruise ‘didn’t want to ask Donald Trump for favor’ for space movie 

Paramount Pictures

An anonymous source told Page Six this week that the space movie has been scrapped as it would have needed federal permission – and Cruise didn’t want to ask Donald Trump for a favor. 

The insider said, “From what I understand, they would need NASA coordination to do the movie, and supposedly Tom Cruise did not want to ask Donald Trump for a favor. You’d need permission from the federal government.”

Although Cruise is public about his Scientology, he keeps his political views private. The source suggested that he doesn’t want to start now and risk alienating his fans, adding, “Tom didn’t want to ask for political reasons.”

The report arrives four months after Cruise turned down the offer of being a recipient at the 48th Kennedy Center Honors announced by the US President, with employees telling The Washington Post that it was down to “scheduling conflicts”.

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Page Six went on to highlight that the Trump-appointed NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine, expressed his support of the space movie back in 2020, confirming that it could be filmed on the International Space Station.

“NASA is excited to work with Tom Cruise 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,” he tweeted. 

However, the post has since been deleted, and there’s been no further discussion on his account. Perhaps asking Trump was a giant leap too far for Cruise – or, he’s simply busy with other projects (which include Top Gun 3). 

For more on Cruise, check out our ranking of the Mission: Impossible movies, a rundown of the most difficult M:I stunts, and the best sci-fi movies ever made.