Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One Behind-The-Scenes Look Stages The Biggest Stunt In Cinema History

Where, oh where, will Tom Cruise's perpetual mission to capture his own death on camera for the entertainment of millions around the globe finally lead him? After several near-misses over the past several years nearly led to the stunt-obsessed movie star meeting his maker way ahead of schedule, Cruise just keeps, well, cruising along with bigger and more dangerous feats because — presumably — nobody can actually tell the man "No." 

Having found a comfortable creative partnership with "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" and "Fallout" director Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise's next death wish has already received the full red carpet treatment for the appropriately-titled "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning: Part One." Not only is the film showcasing a special sneak peek for those fans who showed up to IMAX theaters to catch James Cameron's latest, "Avatar: The Way of Water," but now Paramount has released a new and even lengthier behind-the-scenes sizzle reel that feels destined for a special feature on the eventual home release. Focusing entirely on the planning, coordination, and the small dose of insanity required to pull off a gambit like this, the footage walks viewers through all the stages involved in the much-discussed stunt that sees Cruise riding a bike off of an enormous ramp off a cliff and straight into a base jump.

A word of warning, however: To those who suffer from a debilitating case of acrophobia, such as myself (that's a fear of heights, for the uninitiated!), you may want to grab some liquid courage first. Or, because it's still far too early in the morning to start drinking, maybe just close your eyes entirely if you don't want to deal with sweaty palms for the next nine-plus minutes. Check it out below!

First Tom Cruise looked out from atop the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper ever built by humanity, and thought that this was good. Then, he strapped himself outside of a moving cargo plane and figured that might be better. The next few years saw him parachuting from a mind-bogglingly high altitude to duel Henry Cavill to the death and then promising to jump inside a rocket to fly into outer space. In comparison to those, attempting to pull off the stunt smartly used as the "Wow" moment in the marketing so far for "Dead Reckoning: Part One" might actually seem somewhat tame, by comparison ... until you take a gander at just how much effort went into performing this as safely and responsibly as humanly possible.

Here's how director Chris McQuarrie explains it early on:

"There's a lot going into this stunt. So Tom put together this master plan to coordinate all of these experts in each of the particular disciplines involved to make this whole thing happen."

The rigorous training spanned an entire year of prep work, which encapsulated free falls, parachuting, motor cross, and even using state-of-the-art cameras in order to actually film the stunt in as visceral a way for audiences as they could. Stunts have always served as the main drawing point to "Mission: Impossible" movies, going back to the 1996 original. All that's changed in the interim is the scope and scale involved. Actual plot details for "Dead Reckoning" have been kept locked up tighter than the NOC List itself, but we're sure to get more info as the film comes closer to its release on July 14, 2023.