Tom Cruise poses on the red carpet at the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One U.S. premiere held at the RoseTheater, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. Photo credit: Derrick Salters/WENN via Reuters Connect

Warner Brothers has announced a strategic partnership with Tom Cruise that will bring the star’s production company to the studio lot this year. What does this deal actually mean? And where does that leave Cruise’s relationship with Paramount Pictures? Kim Masters and Matt Belloni investigate.  

A strategic what? The studio’s announcement was sparse on details, offering little insight into the partnership. “What is Warner Brothers actually getting out of this? It’s called a strategic partnership, but this is not a first look deal. It is not an exclusive arrangement,” Belloni clarifies. “Tom Cruise can make whatever movie he wants for whatever studio he wants. And we’re not sure what the money is either.”

Star power? Masters reported that Cruise is looking to launch a franchise, and Belloni adds that the actor’s filmography at Warner Brothers may be the key to what follows. “There’s all these Warner Brothers movies that Tom Cruise made from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Everything from Risky Business to more recently Edge of Tomorrow, which you know, there has been some talk about a prequel to that movie,” Belloni speculates.

Tension at Paramount? Cruise is still working on the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible series, but the underwhelming box office performance of Dead Reckoning Part One may have affected the actor’s relationship with Paramount. “I think it got a little strained when Mission: Impossible Seven didn’t perform that well. And they’re going to end up losing maybe $30 million or more on that film,” Masters predicts.

What about Top Gun 3? Belloni broke the news that Top Gun 3 is in the works, but Masters believes the actor’s strained relationship with Paramount could slow things down. “I don’t think he would rush to do Top Gun since I think he’s become quite annoyed with Paramount management pushing him to put things on the streamer and things that don’t happen when you’re Tom Cruise, so he’s felt let down by them,” Masters says.