Tom Cruise has reportedly scrapped his outer space movie. The Hollywood icon refused to ask US President Donald Trump for a crucial favour for his ambitious project, a source told Page Six. In 2020, NASA confirmed it was working with Cruise on an untitled film aboard the International Space Station.

Tom Cruise will next appear in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's film.(AFP) Tom Cruise will next appear in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s film.(AFP) Tom Cruise avoided favour from Donald Trump

An insider told the outlet that Tom Cruise needed the federal government’s permission for the project he had in mind. “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 favor,” the source explained to Page Six.

“Tom didn’t want to ask for political reasons,” the insider added.

In 2020, Deadline reported that Tom Cruise was collaborating with Elon Musk and NASA for a movie to be shot in outer space. Doug Liman, who previously worked with the Top Gun actor on American Made and Edge of Tomorrow, was supposed to direct the ambitious movie.

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, in a now-deleted tweet, said 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,” Bridenstine wrote on X, formerly Twitter, per Page Six.

According to The Washington Post, Tom Cruise recently turned down a recent 2025 Kennedy Center honour from President Trump, citing “scheduling conflicts”.

Also read: Blue Ivy appears courtside with dad Jay-Z at Lakers game, fans say she looks just like Beyoncé

Doug Liman on Tom Cruise’s outer space movie

Doug Liman opened up about Tom Cruise’s outer space movie in an interview with Deadline earlier this year. He said he was “more excited about going to space”. He added that the team wanted to “make something great”.

“I’m not interested in doing something that’s just a promotional gimmick. I want to make a film that people watch in a hundred years,” he told the outlet. Liman also said that in a hundred years, numerous movies would have been shot in outer space.

As of now, Tom Cruise is gearing up for the release of his next project with Alejandro G. Iñárritu.