Around this time last year, Deadline reported that Tom Cruise was looking to reprise what is perhaps his greatest role โ the scene-stealing studio executive Les Grossman featured in Ben Stillerโs Tropic Thunder; which he apparently improvised with a can of Diet Coke โ in the wake of both Top Gun: Maverick and the Mission: Impossible franchiseโs (potential) two-part finale.
The prolific entertainment publication indicated that the worldโs biggest movie star and longtime collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie, director of every Mission: Impossible instalment since Rogue Nation, was in the early stages of setting up โthree very different projectsโ:
- โOne is an original song and dance-style musical theyโll craft as a star vehicle for Cruise.โ
- โThey are also setting up another original action film with franchise potential.โ โ possibly related to the rumoured voyage to space with Doug Liman (Edge of Tomorrow); which McQuarrie is also producing.
- โAnd they are also fixated on Les Grossman.โ
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At Sydneyโs red carpet premiere of Mission: Impossible โ Dead Reckoning (Part One), BH received exclusive confirmation that something within the realm of a Tropic Thunder spin-off is indeed in the works.
โNothing,โ the man behind Ethan Hunt said with a grin when prompted about whether he could shed any light on the matter before letting out a tell-tale laugh.
โWeโre working on it.โ
The day prior, during our sit-down interview with Christopher McQuarrie, the seasoned filmmaker was similarly tight-lipped, offering an incredibly evasive answer before letting out his own tell-tale laugh.
โCan you tell us anything about it?โ
โUhโฆ no [chuckles.],โ answered McQuarrie before we moved on.
This wouldnโt be the first time the Tropic Thunder spin-off carrot was dangled.
Over a decade ago, shortly after Tom Cruise fat-suited up for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards, Paramount and MTV Films announced such a project was in active development with a screenplay being penned by Michael Bacall (Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Project X, 21 Jump Street).
โLes Grossmanโs life story is an inspiring tale of the human class struggle to achieve greatness against all odds,โ expressed Tropic Thunder co-star and director Ben Stiller, who was set to produce the Grossman flick.
โHe has assured me he plans to quote, โFucking kill the shit out of this movie and make Citizen fucking Kane look like a piece of crap home movie by the time we are done.โ I am honoured to be working with him.โ
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โEverything I learned in this business, Iโve learned from Les,โ added Paramount Film Group President Adam Goodman.
โI started out as his assistant, and from the first day he threw his desk at me when I got his lunch order wrong, I have loved him like a father.โ
A Paramount press release also included a โstatementโ from Tom Cruise as Les Grossman after being prompted about what the Tropic Thunder spin-off screenplay would actually entail:
โTo quote my great friend Kirk Lazarus [portrayed by Robert Downey Jr], `I donโt read the script, the script reads me.โโ
Of course, years have passed, and weโve yet to see anything concrete. Will this project ever see the light of day? Who knows. But the world once said the very same thing about a Top Gun sequel. And now look at us.
Stay tuned for updates on the Tropic Thunder spin-off starring Tom Cruise as Les Grossman here.
