Tom Cruise is setting up shop on the Warner Bros. lot.
In a new strategic partnership that Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav helped shepherd, Cruise will team with movie studio chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy in jointly developing and producing original and franchise theatrical films starring the world-famous actor.
Cruise and his production company will have offices on the WBD lot in Burbank. The pact, which commences this year, isn’t a traditional first-look deal, insiders say.
Luring Cruise into the fold is a coup for Zaslav, Abdy and De Luca, considering he’s one of the last movie stars who carries clout around the world. And it’s especially a coup since he’s otherwise remained a free agent who hasn’t had a formal deal with Paramount, home of his two biggest franchises, Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, since 2006.
Insiders stress that Cruise will continue to work with other studios, including Paramount, for whom he’s currently shooting the next Mission: Impossible film. And he’s making a space adventure movie for Universal that will see him become to first civilian to walk outside of the International Space Station.
Teaming with WBD gives Cruise additional security at a time of enormous change for Hollywood’s legacy movie studios, some of whom are having to reconsider spending hundreds of millions on franchise tentpoles. That includes Paramount, which could be sold in the next year or so; one of the potential suitors is WBD.
No specific projects have yet been announced as part of the new WBD and Cruise partnership, which marks a homecoming of sorts. His roster of films includes such Warners titles as Edge of Tomorrow, Rock of Ages, Magnolia, Eyes Wide Shut, Interview With the Vampire and Risky Business, which helped put the actor on the map.
“Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back — we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business — and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’ Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition,” said De Luca and Abdy in a statement. The duo serve as co-CEOS of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.
Added Cruise, “I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience. I look forward to making great movies together!”
Over the course of his five-decade career as an actor and producer, Cruise’s movies have earned nearly $13 billion in worldwide box office, a virtually incomparable achievement, according to the release announcing the new partnership.
Cruise and Paramount, however, faced tough times last year when Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One disappointed badly at the global box office amid the Barbenheimer craze.
