Tom Cruise's Ambitious Space Film With NASA Scrapped - How Is Donald Trump The Reason? EXPLAINED

Tom

Cruise has scrapped his much-anticipated space movie, and the reason is US President Donald Trump. The Hollywood icon pulling out of the ambitious project is indeed a major blow, given how NASA had in 2020 announced of collaborating with the Mission Impossible star on the untitled film (SpaceX Project) aboard the International Space Station.

Why did Tom Cruise said NO to the film?

According to a recent report by Page Six, in order to ensure that the film rolls out, Tom Cruise needed the Trump government's permission. But, the 63-year-old actor denied any kind of interaction on the project with Donald Trump, thus rejecting help or favour from the federal government of US. "From what I understand, they would need NASA coordination to do the movie, and supposedly, Tom Cruise did not want to ask Donald Trump for a favour. You’d need permission from the federal governmen," Page Six quoted a source. "Tom didn’t want to ask for political reasons," the source added, stressing on how Cruise has largely stayed apolitical over the years.ALSO READ: Highest Grossing Hollywood Films 2025: F1, Mission Impossible, Jurassic World Rebirth Took Over Indian Box Office

More about the project

The film was first planned in 2020. At that time, Deadline confirmed that Tom Cruise was collaborating with NASA and Elon Musk for a movie which will be shot in outer space. Filmmaker Doug Liman, who has collaborated with the actor on American Made and Edge of Tomorrow, was attached as the director. In a now deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine had back then stated that "NASA was excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station! We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @NASA’s ambitious plans a reality."The Washington Post reported earlier this year that Tom Cruise turned down a recent 2025 Kennedy Center honour from Donald Trump. The reason he gave was "scheduling conflicts."