Edge of Tomorrow’s director admits that something about the film made him think Tom Cruise might quit.

The record-breaking success of Top Gun: Maverick has shown that when Tom Cruise returns to a popular film franchise, huge gains are possible. It’s only been a decade since Cruise starred in one of the best sci-fi movies in recent memory, Edge of Tomorrow, but there are still a lot of people who would love to see a sequel to that one. We still don’t know if we’ll ever get that follow-up, but it turns out there was a point when director Doug Liman wasn’t sure if we’d ever get the original movie. And his comments come shortly after Cruise marked the 10th anniversary of the flick.

Doug Liman just brought back another major franchise with Road House, which was a big hit with Amazon subscribers, and a sequel to that movie is already moving forward. When asked about the long-discussed sequel to Edge of Tomorrow by our sister site Total Film (via GamesRadar), Liman mentioned that he was once afraid Tom Cruise would quit the film because the character was so far from the traditional Cruise action hero role. Liman said…

I didn’t know if he was going to quit the movie when I proposed to him: what if we made his character a coward? It’s totally against the brand of Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise doesn’t simply play the protagonist in most of his films. He usually plays heroes who are hyper-confident. While Ethan Hunt or Pete “Maverick” Mitchell may find themselves in situations where the odds are stacked against them, there’s never a question that they are capable of saving themselves because they are just so damn good at what they do.

Tom Cruise’s Major William Cage starts out in Edge of Tomorrow as the exact opposite of that. He cannot fight, and beyond that, he’s done anything and everything in his power to avoid a battle. When he finds himself in the middle of a war zone his instinct is to run away to save his own skin.

There have been stories about how some stars who have contractual requirements regarding fights, which stipulate that they not look weak in their movies. So it wouldn’t be that outside of the normal if Tom Cruise didn’t like the idea of playing somebody who wasn’t as tough and cool as his other characters. But, ultimately, Cruise was game for it, and I’m glad for that because the film is awesome!

Also, by the end of Doug Liman’s film, Tom Cruise’s character has largely become the archetype character we’d expect the A-lister to play. As such, if an Edge of Tomorrow 2 ever does happen, we can expect the star to play a character we’re more used to seeing. While little movement on a sequel has been made over the last decade, Liman says that WB is still very interested in another movie, so perhaps the sequel is still possible. Plus, Cruise’s recent tribute to the flick may indicate that he still has affection for the film and would be open to returning. Let’s hope that proves to be the case.

In the meantime, you can check out the action star playing a cowardly character in Edge of Tomorrow, which is available to buy or rent on digital platforms.