Director Christopher McQuarrie says the action star broke ankle during the filming of a stunt which required jumping between buildings and hitting a wall.

The studio behind Mission Impossible 6 has confirmed that production of the film has been put on hiatus while Tom Cruise recovers from a broken ankle suffered during filming.

However, Paramount Pictures insisted that Cruise’s injury would not affect the release date of the film, which is 27 July 2018.

Cruise injured himself while performing a stunt in London that involved the actor leaping between two buildings with the assistance of a harness. Footage obtained by TMZ showed the actor colliding with the side of the second building before pulling himself to safety. He was later seen limping heavily. A report in Variety suggested the actor had injured his hip in addition to his right ankle.

“During production on the latest Mission: Impossible film, Tom Cruise broke his ankle while performing a stunt,” Paramount said in a statement. “Production will go on hiatus while Tom makes a full recovery. Tom wants to thank you all for your concern and support and can’t wait to share the film with everyone next summer.”

It is unclear how long filming for Mission: Impossible 6, which was due to finish shooting in October, will be delayed, with Variety suggesting it could be postponed for up to three months to allow Cruise time to recover. The delay is complicated by the fact that other members of the film’s cast, which includes Simon Pegg, Henry Cavill, and Rebecca Ferguson, are scheduled to begin filming other projects in the autumn. Cruise is also set to begin filming a sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun, shortly, which will see him reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

Speaking to Empire, Mission Impossible 6 writer/director Christopher McQuarrie said that Cruise was in “high spirits” despite his injury and indicated that the actor was supposed to collide with the side of the second wall during the stunt.

“The truth is that the stunt was never designed for Tom to jump from rooftop to rooftop which a) would have been pretty boring, and b) when you see the actual shot you’ll understand how it was designed,” he said. “He was always supposed to slam into the side of the building. That’s what gives the stunt its energy.

“On the fourth try, he hit the building at a slightly different angle and he broke his ankle. He knew the instant that he hit the building that his ankle was broken. You can see it on his face. He knew in that instant, ‘Well, we’re not coming back here. We’re not doing this again today,’” McQuarrie added.

Despite the injury, McQuarrie suggested that Cruise, who regularly performs his own stunts, was unlikely to change his habits any time soon. “He is in better shape and better form than I have seen him on any of the movies we’ve worked on in the last 10 years,” the director said.

[Gwilym Mumford – The Guardian – original article]

[Video from Variety]