Everybody knows how much Tom Cruise loves to run in his movies.
He has run away from falling cars, exploding missiles, katana-wielding samurai, alien invaders, and even the literal devil.
And now, Hollywood’s biggest action star has decided he wants to run…from polar bears?
A production company called PolarX has petitioned the Governor of Svalbard, Norway’s High Arctic archipelago, for the right to film a Mission: Impossible instalment in the area.
According to Norwegian news organization P4, Svalbard’s governor has received an application for helicopter-based filming for Cruise’s most iconic franchise.
In fact, Cruise already filmed in Norway last year for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. However, that was only for part one, set for a July 14 release this year. The second part will hit theaters in 2024, and it’s for that film that the franchise hopes to film in Svalbard, a region now famous for both its wealth of polar bears and sensitivity to climate change.
Hikers near giant blue glacier in Spitsbergen, Svalbard. Photo: Shutterstock
It’s for that latter reason that the area’s governor has been reluctant to grant permission for helicopters, The Barents Observer reported. The country’s Environmental Act strictly regulates the use of aircraft in Svalbard, and its government has denied many cruise liner operators permission to fly in clients for sightseeing.
However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Cruise will get his wish. In 2018, the PolarX production service gained access to the area when filming a Disney production about how climate change is harming Svalbard and the Arctic, The Barents Observer wrote.
If granted permission, the film crew will work in March and April, Svalbardposten reported, the period where constant daylight begins. (Which would no doubt help production.)
So, will we get to see Tom Cruise running through Svalbard? Only time will tell.
