Tom Cruise Returns to Cannes with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Tom Cruise is back on the Croisette. Three years after his electrifying appearance with Top Gun: Maverick, the Hollywood icon returns to the Cannes Film Festival for the world premiere of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, screening Out of Competition at the Grand Théâtre Lumière on Wednesday, May 14.

Cruise will ascend the red carpet steps of the Palais des Festivals alongside longtime collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, who directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Erik Jendresen, as well as co-stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Mariela Garriga, and Angela Bassett.

The screening marks Cruise’s third official visit to Cannes. His first was in 1992 for Ron Howard’s Far and Away, but it was his triumphant 2022 return — complete with an in-depth masterclass, the surprise awarding of an honorary Palme d’or, and an unforgettable jet-fighter tribute — that reestablished him as one of global cinema’s most enduring showmen.

Now, in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Cruise reprises the role of Ethan Hunt, the relentless IMF agent he first portrayed nearly 30 years ago in the franchise’s 1996 debut. Described as the final chapter in one of Hollywood’s most iconic action sagas, the film promises high-stakes thrills, emotional resonance, and the kind of gravity-defying stunts that have become Cruise’s trademark.

Produced by Paramount Pictures and Skydance, the film is the latest in a streak of collaborations between Cruise and McQuarrie, following Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Rogue Nation, and Top Gun: Maverick. With each film, the duo has raised the bar for blockbuster storytelling and real-world spectacle.

As the festival prepares to celebrate Robert De Niro with an honorary Palme d’or and host a masterclass, Cruise’s return underscores Cannes' unique ability to bridge auteur cinema and high-octane Hollywood — a celebration of both craft and charisma.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning opens in French cinemas on May 21, followed by a U.S. release on May 23.