Cruise initially relocated to Europe back in 2019.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Production on Mission: Impossible 8 is finally coming to a close, which means it’s time for Tom Cruise to return to the United States. While it’s common for actors to travel for a movie or television project, the time Cruise has been in Europe has been extended beyond the norm. The actor has been overseas for years at this point, considering the amount of delays and changes to the shooting schedule, as well as how director Christopher McQuarrie decided to approach shooting back to back Mission: Impossible movies.

According to The Sun, Cruise is finally relocating to America after spending over five years in the UK. The original plan likely wasn’t to be in England as long as he was, but circumstances kept him overseas. He originally traveled to Europe in 2019 when production on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning began, which is around the time we here at CinemaBlend started covering the M:I production. The plan was always to shoot the seventh and eighth installments back to back, so being overseas for two years was likely the expectation.

However in 2020, COVID hit which led to worldwide lockdowns. This created delays on all film productions across the industry. The movie was scheduled to begin filming in February of 2020, but COVID pushed the M:I schedule and the movie ended up starting during the summer of 2020, and was one of the first movies to resume production during COVID. Even with production resuming, Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 was still continuously faced with delays, as new pandemic protocols had to be met at different shooting locations, and they needed special approval in many instances to move forward.

(Image credit: Paramount)

Mission: Impossible 7 finally was released last summer, but production on the eighth film continued. Shortly after the 2023 release, an industry wide writers and actors strike hit the entertainment industry, once again causing several filming delays. M:I 8 was initially supposed to be released summer of 2024, but then was once again pushed to 2025, to accommodate for another Hollywood work stoppage. The SAG strike officially ended in November of 2023, and production was finally able to pick back up. Considering the scale of the film, the movie only just now wrapped filming, allowing Cruise to return home after 5 years on Mission.

All things considered, it makes sense that Cruise was essentially stuck in Europe for half a decade, but it’s still wild to think about. Even under the circumstances, The actor became a notable figure during the Paris Olympics, being a major part of the closing ceremony. The Jerry Maguire star also attended Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour in between crazy stunts for Mission. He also periodically traveled back to the States to promote Top Gun: Maverick and M:I 7, both major filmmaking accomplishments. It’s almost hard to believe Cruise was in London as long as he was, and hopefully the world will see it was all worth it when M:I 8 finally hits theaters.

You can see Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 8, which is set to be released on May 23th, 2025. It is one of the most highly anticipated films on the 2025 movie release schedule, so make sure to check it out when you can. In the meantime, fans of the franchise can revisit Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and the other M:I movies now with a Paramount+ subscription.