Tom Cruise unleashes 'Mission: Impossible' juggernaut at Cannes

Three years after flying into the Cannes Film Festival with "Top Gun: Maverick," Tom Cruise returned to the Croisette on Wednesday with “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning.” Christopher McQuarrie’s latest “Mission: Impossible” installment is the biggest Hollywood tentpole wading ashore in Cannes this year.

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Ahead of the premiere on Wednesday evening, Cruise, McQuarrie and the cast posed for photographers while much of the activity at the Palais was brought to a standstill by onlookers hoping to get a glimpse of Cruise. McQuarrie sat for an onstage interview, but there was no press conference for the film, which meant Cruise and company faced no questions from reporters. In 2022, Cruise received an honorary Palme d’Or from the festival and the “Top Gun: Maverick” premiere included an impressively timed jet flyover. Whether the 62-year-old Cruise has anything up his sleeve this time was much anticipated at Cannes. On Sunday, Cruise climbed atop the roof of the British Film Institute in London. “The Final Reckoning,” which launched in Tokyo last week, opens in North American theaters on May 23. What we do know is that Simon Pegg, who has played field agent Benji Dunn in six of the films, is definitely hanging up his Impossible Missions Force badge. But not before the British actor credited the franchise with saving him from depression and alcohol and helping him get sober in 2010 for his role in “Ghost Protocol”.