Tom Cruise's Warner Bros. Film Deal & Paramount Exit Are Deeper Than You Think
It was a surprising industry twist when movie star Tom Cruise, best known for his collaborations with Paramount Pictures on projects like the Mission: Impossible franchise and "Top Gun: Maverick," signed a major partnership deal with Warner Bros. According to the official press release from Warner Bros. Discovery, Cruise and his production company have partnered with the company to develop multiple theatrical films starring himself. One might see this development as Cruise and Warner Bros. simply capitalizing on a lucrative and mutually beneficial opportunity. However, there's far more to the actor's exit from Paramount than meets the eye.
In a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the outlet suggests that Cruise's agreement with Warner Bros. is partially the result of a growing rift between the actor and Paramount. According to the outlet's undisclosed sources, the relationship between the two parties has become strained due to several disputes. Among these conflicts are Paramount's initial plan to give "Top Gun: Maverick" a 45-day theatrical run, the studio's desire to develop a TV show based on "Mission: Impossible" or "Days of Thunder" for Paramount+, and "Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning — Part One" going far over budget during production.
There's precedent for Cruise's conflicts with Paramount
Each of the conflicts between Tom Cruise and Paramount Pictures that The Hollywood Reporter's article details align with previous reporting on the star and his interactions with the studio. In an interview with Variety, Paramount CEO Brian Robbins admitted that the company feuded with Cruise over the budget of both "Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning — Part One" and "Mission: Impossible 8." According to the executive, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie wanted to add an expensive scene planned for the latter film into the first one, an expense Paramount did not want to pay. "It was a production issue, and it was about the scope of what was being asked for," Robbins said. "And the question we needed to ask was do we need this and why? And then how big is it going to be, and how long is that going to take?"
While Cruise hasn't addressed reports around a potential Mission: Impossible series for Paramount+, it's worth noting that the actor has historically taken a strict stance against developing projects for television or streaming services. "I make movies for the big screen," he said at the Cannes premiere for "Top Gun: Maverick" in 2022 (via Variety). He has also taken issue with Paramount's approach to cable deals; Cruise and Sandra Bullock have claimed that Paramount's partnership with Epix has cost them millions of dollars in earnings, according to a report from Fortune.
Warner Bros. saw an opportunity to rope in Cruise
With Tom Cruise reportedly on the outs with Paramount, it seems Warner Bros. saw an opportunity to appeal to the talent. Per The Hollywood Reporter's article, a meeting was arranged between Cruise and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav, in which the two hit it off and set the stage for a formal deal. Interestingly enough, it is alleged that Paramount was not privy to any of these developments, despite Cruise's close connection to the studio. The report also reveals the actor never had a formal deal with Paramount.
Cruise's new partnership with Warner Bros. does not have an exclusivity clause, allowing the star to appear in and work on projects outside the company. Nonetheless, the partnership is strong, with Cruise's production outfit setting up offices at the Warner Bros. lot. "Their ability to say this is the home of Tom Cruise — I think they perceive it as a coup," an anonymous industry executive told The Hollywood Reporter. "It never hurts to have a very close relationship with the biggest movie star in the world."
For the time being, Cruise still has some lingering commitments to Paramount, including the next Mission: Impossible film. After that, it's unclear what their relationship will become. As for potential projects at Warner Bros., the report suggests discussions around a potential sequel to 2014's Cruise-led "Edge of Tomorrow," among other ideas.
Cruise and Paramount have split up before
Strangely enough, Tom Cruise's break with Paramount in favor of Warner Bros. is not the first time that the actor and Mission: Impossible studio have moved away from one another. Back in 2006, The Guardian reported that Paramount had fired Cruise over a number of the actor's public-facing controversies, including his affiliation with the Church of Scientology and a bizarre incident in which he jumped on a couch during an interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show." "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount," Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone said at the time. According to The New York Times, representatives for Cruise pushed back on the idea that he was fired, instead arguing that he quit after Paramount lowballed the actor on his contract renewal.
Despite this heated split, the ensuing years demonstrated an enduring desire between Cruise and Paramount to continue collaborating on projects like the Mission: Impossible franchise. With this context in mind, it's possible that Cruise's move to Warner Bros. doesn't spell the end of the relationship between the star and the studio. After all, the two parties have made it through arguably more dire straits in the past.