After Top Gun 3, is Warner Bros. hoping to bring Tom Cruise for Edge of Tomorrow 2?

Edge of Tomorrow 2 could soon be a reality. Warner Bros. Discovery, Motion Picture Group, and Tom Cruise have recently signed a new deal to produce original and franchise feature pictures.

As per Deadline, Cruise will both create and star in original and franchise films. The 61-year-old action star and his production company will also have an office at Warner Bros. headquarters in Burbank, California.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is now hoping to convince the Top Gun: Maverick star to get started on Edge of Tomorrow 2, a sequel to his 2014 sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow. It was also the last film from the previous stretch of Cruise and Warner Bros. collaboration.

Edge of Tomorrow, which was released in 2014, follows a soldier who fights aliens while trapped in a time-based loop. Every time he dies fighting, he gets to relive the same day again and over again. Following its theatrical release, it gained a cult following, thereby sparking rumors of a sequel.

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Is Edge of Tomorrow 2 part of Tom Cruise's Warner Bros. deal?

Tom Cruise in Warner Bros. sci-fi movie (Image via IMDb)

The rumors that Tom Cruise's new deal with Warner Bros. may involve the creation of Edge of Tomorrow 2 have gladly given the long-simmering dreams for a sequel to the 2014 movie a boost. As per The Hollywood Reporter, WB executives Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy are keen to work with Cruise on the follow-up.

But this isn't an exclusive deal, as reported by Deadline, since Tom Cruise is still working on Mission: Impossible 8, which is scheduled for release next May, and the yet-to-be-named space-set action adventure with director Doug Liman and Universal Studios.

Motion Picture Group’s CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, however, are “excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros,” according to Deadline.

“We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry. Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’”

They added:

“Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead.”

To which Cruise added,

“I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience. I look forward to making great movies together!”

While details of Cruise's deal with Warner Bros. and Motion Picture are yet to be revealed, the action star and WB have a long history together; Warner Bros. gave Cruise his breakthrough role in Risky Business. Edge of Tomorrow, which globally grossed $370.5 million, was one of the eight films that Cruise made with Warner Bros., including Magnolia and Eyes Wide Shut, among others.

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Edge of Tomorrow 2 to be a "character-focused movie"

Edge of Tomorrow: Fighting Aliens (Image via IMDb)

The concept of the first Edge of Tomorrow was well received, and Cruise's performance also received praise. The sequel, Edge of Tomorrow 2, that filmmaker Doug Liman and actor Harrison Ford have in mind is a more intimate, character-focused movie, according to Liman. In an interview with Collider in 2021, Liman said,

"I get sometimes the sequel just has to have more firepower or more explosions, but no visual effect is going to top what you’re going to get from a great scene performed by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt."

Last year, Emily Blunt also addressed the possibility of Edge of Tomorrow 2 in an interview with Variety.

“Doug and I talk all the time about it. I know Tom wants to do it, hopefully, at some point. But it’s timing, but it’s also been ten years since we made it … There was an amazing script in the works, but I think it would only have worked if we shot it eight years ago. I’m not saying we’re that ancient, but you have to factor in it’s been ten years.”

News of Edge of Tomorrow 2 had also come up in 2016, when Liman had reportedly signed on to direct a script from Christopher McQuarrie. At the time, Liman told Collider,

“That is the only sequel that I’m considering doing, and it’s because first of all the story is so amazing—much better than the original film, and I loved and loved the original film—and second of all, it’s a sequel that’s a prequel.”

With Cruise's new deal, Edge of Tomorrow 2 seems more likely than not. It might wind up to be another of Cruise's recognizable major franchises. With sci-fi films like Minority Report and Edge of Tomorrow, Cruise has already established his repertoire in the genre. If he teams up with Blunt and Liman again, he might succeed even more.

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Edge of Tomorrow is streaming on HBO Max. It is also available to watch with a subscription to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video and to rent or buy on Apple TV and Google Play.