Tom Cruise had no issues when Thelma filmmaker approached him with the idea of paying homage to his iconic action IP.

Since Mission: Impossible‘s inception, the iconic action franchise has continued to influence the genre, even to this day. Josh Margolin’s recent action flick, Thelma, starring June Squibb, also takes heavy inspiration from the Tom Cruise-led IP, which not only is the 93-year-old’s first leading role but also serves as her foray into the realm of action.

Thelma | Credit: Magnolia Pictures

Moreover, per the filmmaker, the Top Gun: Maverick star himself gave his blessing to the new film by allowing them to use the footage of his beloved action franchise,

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Mission: Impossible – Fallout | Credit: Paramount Pictures

Apart from engaging in death-defying stunts on a regular for the MI movies, the actor has also been a vocal advocate for original and theatrical releases, which explains his new deal with WB. So it’s not hard to see why the actor had no issue when Josh Margolin approached him with the idea of using some of the scenes from the MI IP for Thelma.

Speaking with THR, Margonlin confessed that they shot two versions of the scene, which pays homage to the MI flicks, “one with Tom on [TVs and newspapers] and then one with like a replaceable green box”. Although they were advised to approach Cruise directly, despite his busy schedule, the meeting was “surprisingly smooth”. Even though the director has no clue whether the Top Gun star has watched the entire film, Tom Cruise did give his (via IndieWire) “thumbs up” for the intended scene.

We were advised to kind of just go straight to Tom and give it a whirl and he very generously was ‘thumbs up.’ [Mission: Impossible] is such a central thread [in Thelma].

While the MI homage is not integral to the plot of the movie, the director, who took inspiration from his own grandma’s story for the film, stressed that thematically it was very woven into the movie.

June Squibb Is Giving Tom Cruise a Run for His Money

Thelma | Credit: Magnolia Pictures

Apart from paying homage to the MI franchise, the film’s lead, 93-year-old June Squibb, took the MI formula to heart by doing her own stunts. Considering she has “always been very physical”, as she spent years of her life dancing and swimming, for the motor scooter scenes, the actress was adamant about doing all her stunt work (via Rolling Stone).

When I read about the motor scooter I thought, ‘Oh, what fun, my God.’ And they thought, ‘Well, she won’t be doing that. Her stunt double will do all the motor work.’ No. I got on that thing and they couldn’t get me off of it. I loved it.

Having loved doing her own stunts, Squibb recalled being told that she was better than any of the stunt doubles on set when it came to stopping.