Tom Cruise feels the need, the need for speed as ‘Top Gun: Maverick‘ premieres at the 75th Cannes film festival on Wednesday, and the actor voiced his support for theatrical releases, ahead of the film’s screening. 

The sequel to the 1986 classic faced quite a few bumps due to COVID-19. Initially, the film was slated to hit theatres on June 24, 2020, the year the world grappled with the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. However, with halls closing and theatregoers dwindling, the movie was shelved for the time.

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Now, it is earning rave reviews and seems poised to be a box office hit. However, the 59-year-old actor asserted that he’d never considered releasing the movie on a streaming platform, a route chosen by many projects in a world grappling with the coronavirus. 

“That’s not going to happen. Ever”, Cruise said, to applause from the audience at the Grand Palais’ Debussy theatre. He further explained “I’ve spent a lot of time with theatre owners. The people that serve the popcorn, the ones who make this [happen].” 

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Cruise added he’d sent a message to theatre owners saying “Please, I know what you’re going through. Just know we are making ‘Mission: Impossible’ and ‘Top Gun’ is coming out.”

The actor was clear that his films aren’t designed to be streamed on platforms, since he intends his action sequences to unfurl on wider canvases. “I make movies for the big screen”, the actor said.

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Cruise also confessed his love for movies at multiplexes, saying he’ll go “with my cap on” and sit “in the audience with everyone”. 

Currently, Cruise is working on filming two back to back ‘Mission Impossible‘ movies, but the franchise instalments have faced some hurdles due to a shrinking budget as film industries grapple with the fallout from the forced halts in the initial days of the pandemic.