Tom Cruise Takes Helicopter For Lunch At Golf Course During Break From Mission: Impossible Filming

Tom Cruise hanging off a helicopter in Mission: Impossible Fallout
(Image credit: (Paramount))

This might be the most Tom Cruise story ever. Okay, picture this: it’s a quiet afternoon in southwest London’s Richmond Golf Club until the sounds of a helicopter’s propellor pulsate louder and louder, and it lands right there on the fairway. Moments after the sleek black chopper quiets down, Cruise casually exits the vehicle and heads to the clubhouse to dine. Yeah, that’s exactly what went down over the weekend in between the actor’s work on Mission: Impossible 7.

Yes, Tom Cruise is a trained pilot and he’s been taking his helicopter for spins on the usual for his return as Ethan Hunt on the action flick currently in production. We’re not sure what kind of helicopter stunts the actor has planned for the big-budget film, but hey, he’s not shy about using the vehicles at his disposal for local dining. Cruise made a lofty entrance to the golf course while donning a baseball cap, sunglasses and mask, per Daily Mail. Once the actor left his helicopter to eat, golfers and other locals stopped to take pictures of themselves next to the chopper too.

The Italian production for Mission: Impossible 7 shutdown back in February due to global health concerns. This month, Cruise has been working closely with the U.K. government to keep the highly-anticipated 2021 release on schedule. The actor has been granted special permission by the government to move forward with production without some of the more strictly-mandated quarantining rules.

Tom Cruise has been living in the U.K, practicing flying his helicopter and riding his motocross bike on a piece of farmland that has been rented for him to practice. Mission: Impossible 7 will implement a more intimate cast and crew for its production, and its unit is reportedly expected to live in a bubble on set while the film is being shot. Joining him is Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Vanessa Kirby, Rebecca Ferguson, Shea Whigham and Pom Klementieff.

The entire cast has been heavily prepping for their latest IMF assignment – just check out Hayley Atwell’s ripped back and Rebecca Ferguson training with some major firepower. No one seems to be doing it quite like Tom Cruise though, who is obviously having a fun time taking his chopper around London spots. Did he call ahead? Make a helicopter reservation? I’m not over this.

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 are expected to shoot back-to-back before opening in theaters on November 19, 2021 and November 4, 2022, respectively. Before that, Tom Cruise is returning to his iconic pilot role in Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick with Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller and Ed Harris on December 23. Check out what other movies are coming in 2020 with CinemaBlend’s release calendar.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.