Tom Cruise took his love for flying to the skies once again, but this time, the real scene-stealer was a baby. The Mission: Impossible star arrived at London’s Battersea Heliport on March 9 after a day of filming at Longcross Studios, and he was spotted getting on a helicopter with actress Hayley Atwell, her partner Ned Kelly, their baby, and director Christopher McQuarrie.
But what really turned heads? Cruise cradling the baby in his arms into the helicopter.
While it was a precious moment, the baby was photographed on Atwell’s lap. Considering aviation safety rules require infants to be in a proper harness or child seat, the logistics of the ride do raise some questions.
Cruise is a busy man right now, working with Atwell and McQuarrie in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film, currently in production at Pinewood Studios in England.
Iñárritu’s ultra-secretive film made headlines this week when it was revealed that John Goodman suffered a hip injury on set in the UK. Warner Bros. confirmed he received immediate medical attention, delaying filming slightly, but the 72-year-old is expected to make a full recovery, with production resuming next week.
Iñárritu’s project could be Cruise's road to his first Academy Award. His work in Magnolia and Born on the Fourth of July earned him nominations, but never the win. The Oscar-winning director’s track record speaks for itself—The Revenant and Birdman racked up multiple Academy Awards.
This marks his first major collaboration with Cruise, and given Iñárritu’s love for ambitious, visually striking storytelling, the pairing should be epic.
Rumor has it that when Cruise, fresh from Victoria Beckham’s birthday bash, caught wind of the project, he moved quickly to get in the room with Iñárritu.
On IMDb, the plot is described as "The most powerful man in the world causes a disaster and embarks on a mission to prove that he is the savior of humanity."
Actors Jesse Plemons, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Corey Johnson, Danny Kirrane, Pip Torrens, Joe Hurst, Sophie Wilde, Mary Higgins, and R.A. Donnelly are also attached to the film. IMDb notes the writers are Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giacobone, and Iñárritu.