Tom Cruise Teams With Oscar-Winning Director For First Warner Bros. Project

The new Inarritu and Tom Cruise collaboration would be produced and directed by Inarritu from a screenplay he co-wrote with Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, and Nicolas Giacobone. Giabone and Dinelaris were co-writers with Inarritu on Birdman, which took home four Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture. So, there is clearly some creative synergy there.

This film will be Tom Cruise’s first film with Warner Bros, following his strategic partnership announcement with the film studio. Cruise will also be the film’s producer. The deal involves Cruise developing and producing original and franchise films for Warner Bros Discovery. Cruise and his production company also have an office on the Warner Bros lot to further cement the working relationship.

Other than Tom Cruise’s starring role and Inarritu’s creative team, plot details of the movie are being kept close to the vest. Deadline reports that Inarritu had been meeting with actors to star in the film, and Cruise was on board right after the two had a meeting. It has also been confirmed that the story is an original from Inarritu, so it won’t be a franchise tentpole.

This project could certainly be a massive boon for Inarritu, Warner Bros, and Tom Cruise, especially after Cruise’s most recent blockbuster didn’t quite meet box office expectations. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One still made a respectable $567 million at the global box office, but it struggled amidst a crowded summer theater month that included the box-office juggernaut that was Barbenheimer. Still, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’s $567 million box office haul was a stark contrast from Cruise’s previous franchise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, which brought in $1.4 billion.

As for Inarritu, not only will this Tom Cruise project be his first English-language film since The Revenant, but it will also be his first major studio film since then. The Revenant brought in an impressive $500 million at the global box office, earned Inarritu his second Best Director Oscar, and nabbed Leonardo DiCaprio his long-awaited win for Best Actor. Since then, Inarritu directed Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths for Netflix.

If Alejandro G. Inarritu can help Leonardo DiCaprio get his Best Actor Oscar, it’s certainly possible he could do the same for Tom Cruise. Cruise has been nominated three times for his acting at the Oscars but has yet to win one. This could be his chance to win the long-overdue award.

In any case, if this type of creative team-up is the norm for Tom Cruise’s new partnership, then there should be a lot to look forward to. In the meantime, we can expect to see Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two in 2025. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more about this Inarritu film and other Cruise projects.