Tom Cruise is returning to his roots at Warner Bros., signing a deal with the company to produce original films starring himself.
Warner Bros. Discovery wrote in a press release on Tuesday that the Top Gun: Maverick star and Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy announced their new "strategic partnership" to produce and develop a mix of new original and franchise theatrical films for the studio.
Cruise, who got his start at the company with teen films The Outsiders and Risky Business, and his production company will have offices on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot in Burbank as part of the deal.
"We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry," De Luca and Abdy said in a statement. "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 [Warner Bros. Discovery CEO] 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. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead."
"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," Cruise said. "I look forward to making great movies together!"
The last time Cruise starred in a movie under the Warner Bros. Picture banner was Edge of Tomorrow, a 2014 sci-fi thriller based on the novel All You Need is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka about a PR officer with limited combat experience who finds himself in a Groundhog Day-style time loop as he finds ways to stop the alien invaders after his superiors force him to join a landing operation against them. The rest of the films he worked on with the studio include Rock of Ages, The Last Samurai, Magnolia, Interview with the Vampire, and Eyes Wide Shut.
Outside of his new deal with Warner Bros., Cruise is working with Paramount on Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 2, which will be released in 2025.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
