Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty; Shawn Levy/Instagram
Tom Cruisehas officially made his mark on theStar Warsuniverse. And yes, it did involve a lightsaber.
Shawn Levy, the director behind next year'sStar Wars: Starfighter, recently revealed toThe New York Timesthat Cruise was one of many A-listers to visit the set of the mysterious new Star Wars film. And in typical Cruise fashion, just watching an exciting day of production unfold wasn't enough — he also had to get in on the action.
Cruise's visit just so happened to align with Levy shooting one of the movie's big lightsaber duels, prompting the director to jokingly suggest that theTop Gun: Maverickstar pick up a camera and help out with filming. To his shock, Cruise obliged.
"Last weekSteven Spielbergwas here. And now Tom Cruise is wielding a camera, ruining his very nice shoes," Levy exclaimed.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
As described by the outlet, Cruise arrived to set in a helicopter that November morning, as the crew blared theMission: Impossibletheme over the loudspeakers. Before long, he was behind the camera and "up to his ankles in mud and pond water" as the duel unfolded.
Per the Times, "He wore a look of great concentration as he stooped over a digital camera, trying to frame the perfect shot."
Levy, who was in disbelief, quipped, "Now when you see the movie, you'll know that part of it was shot by Tom. I mean, how cool is that?"
Thus far, Cruise's behind-the-scenes contribution to a lightsaber battle is one of few details that Levy has shared about the upcomingStar Warstentpole.Ryan Goslingheadlines the film, which Levy has described as a "standalone" project set in "a period of time that we haven't seen explored yet." The film also stars Flynn Gray, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, Aaron Pierre, and Amy Adams, among others.
Elsewhere in his conversation with theTimes, Levy got emotional when asked about his tendency to tell stories about fathers and sons (thinkReal Steel, Night at the Museum, andThe Adam Project). While reflecting on that common theme in his work, the filmmaker hinted thatStarfighterwill keep the trend going.
"I have never, ever connected it before," admitted Levy, who was estranged from his father until the age of 13. "I'm a little embarrassed because you're going to have to mention that I got emotional. But I could never figure out why I kept coming back to these stories of a 13-year-old boy being saved by a man. There was something defining about that moment for me. And withStar Wars, I'm doing so again."
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Starfighter,which is due in theaters next year, boasts a script fromBansheeandWarriorcreator Jonathan Tropper. Production on the film concluded in December.
Speaking toEntertainment Weeklylast year, Levy said thatmaking the film has been "hard as hell"but worth every second.
"It is surreal and awesome every day walking onto this set, to have made up a new and originalStar Warsstory that is neither a sequel nor a prequel to anything," he said. "I have deep respect and love for this historic legacy, but a chance to do something fresh and original and to do it with Jonathan Tropper, the writer ofThe Adam Project, and with Gosling... It's dream-come-true territory every day."
Star Wars: Starfighteropens in theaters May 28, 2027.
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