Tom Cruise’s next five movies — and how far along they actually are

Tom Cruise just picked up his honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November 2025—yes, the sort of lifetime-achievement pat on the back that signals you’re allowed to take it easy. Cruise clearly doesn’t believe in that. At 64, and newly liberated from Mission: Impossible duty, he has more films on the runway than ever, mixing comedies, sequels, prestige fare, and the odd war epic. A few rumoured projects—his supernatural picture with Ana de Armas, Deeper, and that much-hyped SpaceX movie—are firmly stuck in development quicksand, in case you were wondering why they’re not on this list.

Tom Cruise doesn't just make movies, he is movies.

That’s how Alejandro González Iñárritu introduced him at the Oscars bash, and, honestly, it’s rather hard to argue. Here’s a look at the surprisingly crowded slate of Tom Cruise’s films for the next couple of years—sequels, Oscar bait, and at least one role involving very bad hair.

'Digger' (October 2026)

The most eye-catching of the lot is Digger, reuniting Cruise with Iñárritu himself. Yes, the same man who handed him the statuette last year is now directing him in what’s being billed as a broad, satirical epic. Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a Southern oil tycoon who lands his entire industry—and, for good measure, the planet—in catastrophic trouble. The US President (played by John Goodman) orders him to fix it. All this kicks off in cinemas and IMAX on 2 October 2026, which, to nobody’s surprise, is the slot Warner Bros cleared out when The Batman: Part II leapt off the schedule.

It took 40 years for me to be able to put on the boots of Digger Rockwell.

That’s Cruise himself, speaking to exhibitors at CinemaCon, just after they’d watched clips of him swanning around with a beer gut, dreadful comb-over and thinning white hair. This isn’t just winking at the audience: it’s Cruise intentionally making himself as unglamorous as possible, with Emmanuel Lubezki (who’s done everything from The Revenant to Gravity) behind the camera. And that supporting cast isn’t just for show: Jesse Plemons, Sandra Hüller, Riz Ahmed, Michael Stuhlbarg, Sophie Wilde, Emma D’Arcy—absolutely stacked. Legendary is throwing $125 million at the thing, so it isn’t just an art-house joke. If you want Tom Cruise going for an actual acting Oscar, not an honorary one, this is the vehicle.

'Days of Thunder 2' (TBA 2027)

Rumour for years, now going in front of cameras: Days of Thunder 2 is officially a thing, with Cruise once again playing Cole Trickle. The original’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, is back on board, and Jonathan Levine (who made 50/50 and Long Shot) is set to direct. The script, by Will Staples (Without Remorse), is apparently in place and Paramount wants cameras rolling in 2027. They’re capitalising on the sudden US F1 boom—mostly thanks to Brad Pitt’s racing movie torching the box office last year and proving Americans do, in fact, fancy expensive cars going very fast in a circle.

Despite critics panning the first film (it still sits at a measly 38% on Rotten Tomatoes), it picked up a strange cult following. Now Cruise gets to have another go—possibly showing the original wasn’t a one-off bout of madness.

In terms of franchises, Days of Thunder wasn’t even in the top half of Cruise’s career, but with racing movies somehow making real money again, this sequel is primed to hit bigger and with more elaborate stunts—assuming Cruise talks his way into every dangerous thing that can possibly be done on four wheels.

'Broadsword' (TBA)

Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie aren’t finished with each other just because Ethan Hunt’s retired. Broadsword is a World War II-set thriller: Cruise plays a lone Marine Sergeant, the only survivor of a crash in France, who teams with a local girl to get to safety. The film has acquired Henry Cavill and Marion Cotillard to keep things lively.

McQuarrie spent ages shooting down casting reports, but lately most of it’s turned out to be accurate. One oddly fascinating note: Cruise has fewer than 500 lines in the script, making this a lean war film all about action and tension rather than endless relays of orders. If you like Cruise in military mode (and fair enough, both Born on the Fourth of July and Valkyrie hold up), there’s clear promise here, especially with McQuarrie steering.

'Top Gun 3' (TBA)

Absolutely nobody is surprised that Top Gun 3 is happening—not after Maverick hauled in $1.5 billion and somehow managed to drag the world’s cinemas out of the post-pandemic nosedive. Paramount confirmed at CinemaCon in April 2026 that the third entry is 'officially in development', with Cruise and Bruckheimer returning to the fold.

There’s a script underway, Ehren Kruger (who just wrote F1) is attached, but crucially, there’s no director yet. Joseph Kosinski, who made Maverick soar, is swamped with other projects (a Miami Vice reboot and a UFO thriller at Apple Studios), so don’t expect this sequel for a good while. The announcement landed right as the original’s 40th anniversary brought both Top Gun films storming back into cinemas for a victory lap, but filming won’t start before Cruise finishes Days of Thunder 2. Still, if the last gap was 36 years, a couple more won’t hurt.

'Edge of Tomorrow 2' (TBA)

Now for the fan obsession: Edge of Tomorrow 2. The original (modest box office, but a proper 91% on Rotten Tomatoes and now a streaming darling) has had calls for a sequel for nearly a decade. The good news is Production Weekly is listing the shoot for late 2026, Doug Liman returning as director, with Emily Blunt expected back as Cruise’s time-hopping partner in chaos. No date, no official confirmation, but Liman, Cruise, and Warner Bros. have made it clear they want this to happen. If it does, the working title is 'Live Die Repeat and Repeat', so expect another time loop and—just maybe—a second shot at sticking the landing, after the original’s ending divided opinion.

Edge of Tomorrow 2 is currently expected to go before cameras in late 2026.