Tom Cruise on Sunday shared a behind-the-scenes video on Twitter detailing the dangerous “HALO jump” stunt from his upcoming film Mission Impossible — Fallout.
The video shows Cruise undergoing rigorous rehearsals in a massive, specially designed wind tunnel, as well as numerous practice jumps leading up to the shoot. “No one thought it would require over 100 jumps to get the scene,” says director Christopher McQuarrie in the video.
The scene sees Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, performing a HALO jump (High Altitude, Low Open), a maneuver used by military personal to infiltrate hostile areas by jumping from a plane at a height of 25,000 feet and opening the chute at an altitude of under 2,000 feet.
“The audience can tell when something’s being cheated, so it’s important to do it all for real,” says stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood.
Cruise was fitted with a special helmet for the scene which provided oxygen and a windscreen for his face, as well as being a prop made specifically for the film.
Getting the right lighting for the shot meant a very small window for success — three minutes a day. Cruise then jumped out of a plane travelling 160 miles per hour, falling at 200 miles per hour and having to hit his marks alongside fellow plummeting cameramen to film the scene correctly.
“I can’t wait for an audience to see this,” says Cruise.
Mission Impossible — Fallout is set to open nationwide July 27.
Watch the video, below.
