Tom Cruise’s first project after concluding the Mission: Impossible franchise with The Final Reckoning has been revealed. Warner Bros. announced that Cruise will star in an untitled film directed by two-time Academy Award winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, The Revenant). The movie is set for release on October 2, 2026.
Plot details revealed
The film’s logline teases an intense story: “The most powerful man in the world embarks on a frantic mission to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything.”
Joining Cruise is an ensemble cast that includes Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, and Riz Ahmed. The project also marks Iñárritu’s return to English-language cinema, his first since 2015’s The Revenant, which earned Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar.
Cruise’s Oscar ambitions reignited
Cruise, a three-time Oscar nominee (Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia), has yet to win the coveted award. This collaboration with Iñárritu, known for crafting complex and critically acclaimed narratives, could reintroduce him into the awards conversation.
The screenplay was penned by Iñárritu and his Birdman co-writers Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolas Giacobone, along with Sabina Berman.
Reshuffling release calendars
The untitled Cruise-Iñárritu film occupies the release date initially slated for The Batman II, which will now debut on October 1, 2027. Other notable changes include Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17 moving up to March 7, 2025, and Ryan Coogler’s Sinners shifting to April 18, 2025.
Highly anticipated competition
Mickey 17, starring Robert Pattinson, is based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey 7. It follows an “expendable” tasked with dangerous, often fatal missions on an ice planet. The twist arises when one expendable survives, leading to complications with his replacement. The cast includes Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo, and Naomi Ackie.
Coogler’s Sinners, set during the Jim Crow era, features Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers who return to their New Orleans hometown, only to face a lurking evil. The film co-stars Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, and Jack O’Connell, with Coogler reuniting with several of his Black Panther collaborators.
Cruise’s next chapter
For Cruise, the Iñárritu collaboration represents a pivot toward auteur-driven projects, a marked departure from the high-octane blockbusters that have defined his career in recent years. Fans eagerly await how this powerhouse pairing will bring the gripping storyline to life.
