Tom Cruise to film aboard the international space station with Elon Musk

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) — One small step for Tom Cruise, one giant leap for moviemaking?

Cruise is partnering with NASA to shoot a movie, at least in part, aboard the National Space Station, NASA has confirmed, the first narrative feature to be shot in space.

"NASA is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station," NASA administrator Jim Bridentsine tweeted on Tuesday. "We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA's ambitious plans a reality."

Deadline Hollywood first reported Monday night that Cruise and Elon Musk's SpaceX were in the early stages of teaming up with NASA for an action-adventure feature film that would be shot in outer space. Plot details have not been revealed, although Deadline reports that it will not be an instalment of Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise.

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It's unclear how Cruise will pull off this feat, but, even at 57, he's insisted on doing his own stunts, including a freefall at 200 mph in 2018's Mission: Impossible — Fallout.

Cruise's next film is Top Gun: Maverick, in which he reprises his role as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a test pilot and flight instructor. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Paramount has moved Top Gun: Maverick off its July 12 release date to December 23, 2020.