Tom Cruise flexes his aviation skills as he safely lands his HondaJet (2024)

Action star Tom Cruise famously learned to fly a fighter jet for his role in Top Gun.

And the Hollywood icon, 61, has once again showed off his aviation skillsas he safely landed his HondaJet in London on Tuesday.

Tom, who has had his pilot's licence since 1994 and owns several aircrafts,can pilot helicopters, fighter jets, private planes and even commercial flights.

Tom could be seen sitting in the co*ckpit with a headset on while concentrating on landing the aircraft during the stormy weather.

The actor is back in the UK to film the eighth installment of Mission Impossible and wasspotted shooting in the heart of Westminster, just roads away from Downing Street.

The dramatic scenes signalled trouble for Tom's character, Impossible Missions Force ( IMF ) agent Ethan Hunt, as the actor was seen kneeling on the road in surrender.

Production trucks lined the central London street as the shoot got underway at sunrise on Sunday to avoid major disruption in the usually bustling political hub of the city.

Dressed in a navy padded jacket and trousers, a tense looking Tom was seen was his hands in the air and lowering himself to his knees.

The untitled film - which will likely be called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two - is scheduled to come out May 23, 2025, after Dead Reckoning Part One was released in July last year.

MI:8 was supposed to hit cinemas this summer, but production had already been delayed due to the Hollywood writers' strike.

Production on the eighth film had originally halted so that the cast could promote Part One, and then the strike began causing further delays.

The Mission: Impossible film series began in 1996 and is based on the 1966 television series of the same name.

As well as starring Tom, the eighth film will also see the return of stars Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Vanessa Kirby.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One underperformed at the box office compared to the previous films in the franchise, despite Tom's attempts to extend its run.

The actor was concerned about Oppenheimer overshadowing the film, as it required the same limited screens.

He was proved right as Oppenheimer achieved almost $400 million more than Mission: Impossible at box office.

Scenes for the eighth installment have been shot across Derbyshire, Surrey and central London at landmarks including the Natural History Museum in Kensington and Westminster Bridge, where Tom displayed his signature action star run.

The Hollywood star filmed an exhilarating chase scene outside the House of Parliament during a night shoot last month.

Parliament Square was blocked off with barricades, with the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben serving as the backdrop to the dramatic scene for the upcoming film.

Tom's Mission Impossible character, Ethan Hunt, appeared to be fighting his way out of danger, as he wore a white shirt covered in fake blood under a black coat.

The A-lister has had plenty of practice filming physically demanding stunts and has become famous for his sprinting scenes.

Many of his action roles, especially the Mission Impossible films, see him undertake at least one significant running sequence.

Tom even poked fun at his tendency to go hell for leather in his movie, with his Twitter bio reading: 'Running in movies since 1981.'

Last month Tom embodied his secret agent alter ego and flew his Mission: Impossible cast and crew to Longcross Studios during the M25 closure, to continue making progress on filming.

A five-mile stretch of the motorway was shut in both directions in a planned closure near Surrey, while a bridge was demolished and a new gantry installed in a £317million upgrade project.

Filming for Mission: Impossible was taking place near the stretch of road between junctions 10 and 11 that shut at 9pm on the Friday night and remained closed until Monday.

To get around the delay, Tomreportedly used a helipad in Battersea to fly the cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 8 to Surrey's Longcross Studios.

Along with Mission: Impossible, Tom is flying back into action for a new Top Gun sequel after the massive box office success of the previous entry.

Tom will be back as Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell, and Paramount, which will be producing again, is hoping to reunite him with his recent costars Miles Teller and Glen Powell.

The news that Tom is back in business with Paramount — where he has released many of his recent films — comes just days after he signed up for a deal with Warner Bros. to produce and develop new filmsfor that studio, including movies he'll star in.

According to Puck News, Maverick co-writer Ehren Kruger is writing a script for the third entry in the series.

Sources toldThe Hollywood Reporter that director Joseph Kosinski is also expected to return after proving himself with the critical and commercial smash success.

Tom's last deal with Paramount ended in 2006, despite his continued work with the studio, and the new deal with Warner Bros. is nonexclusive, which will allow him to still work with other studios.

However, he's expected to be getting his own office on the Warners lot.

Tom and his costars helped lead the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick to nearly $1.5 billion, and the action film's months-long stint in theatres helped revive the theatrical business after the coronavirus pandemic.

Although news of the high-flying sequel struck some as an attempt to blunt the positive publicity Warner Bros. was getting for scoring a Tom connection, THR reports that it has been quietly in development since the late fall.

Paramount didn't comment on the development.