Tom Cruise has entered the next phase of his personal mission to save the movie theater industry.
The “Top Gun” star and Warner Bros. Discovery are teaming up to develop and produce original and franchise theatrical films starting this year, according to a news release on Tuesday. (Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.)
“Excited to share this news. I look forward to making great movies together!” Cruise wrote on his Instagram Tuesday, alongside a photo of the studio’s announcement.
“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,” Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a statement on Tuesday.
Their statement went on to say that Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav encouraged a partnership with Cruise as the studio continues its “mission to bring Warner Bros. back.”
Tuesday’s announcement did not elaborate on specific projects they’re developing together, but Cruise has a storied history with Warner Bros., having previously starred in iconic films produced and distributed by the studio such as “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Rock of Ages,” “Magnolia,” “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Risky Business,” among others.
Cruise has been an outspoken advocate for audiences seeing films in the movie theater amid the pandemic and rise of at-home streaming platforms, taking to his own social media to encourage moviegoers to head to the theater to see some of 2023’s biggest blockbusters like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.”
He was also praised by director Steven Spielberg last year, who said 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick” – the long-awaited sequel of the 1986 original “Top Gun” film in which he starred – “might have saved the entire theatrical industry.”
The sequel brought in nearly $1.5 billion worldwide since its September 2022 theatrical release, making it the fifth highest-grossing film in North American history.