Tom Cruise can’t catch a break. One week before Paramount Pictures decided that 2021 presented too much of a risk for a theatrical release of either Top Gun: Maverick or Mission: Impossible 7, his car was stolen from outside his hotel, right from under his bodyguards’ nose.
There is a silver lining to the car theft, though. The BMW X7, officially a work car for Cruise to make it from the hotel in Birmingham to the MI7 movie set in time, was recovered the next day. It was emptied of all contents, reports at the time said, including Cruise’s personal luggage, but one briefcase was left behind. In that suitcase was one of the few existing copies of the finished Top Gun: Maverick film.
It’s been nearly three years since the trailers for the film have been released and Cruise started promoting it. The new release date is May 2022, and Paramount is determined to not release the film in any other way than on the big screen. The last thing the studio and the producers, including Cruise, need right now is an unauthorized leak.
It came close to happening when Cruise’s X7 was stolen, The Sun says. Apparently, as a producer, Cruise got a finished copy of the film and he’d left it in a briefcase inside the vehicle, which was parked in a lot close to his hotel in Birmingham. Thieves used a relay device to open and start the SUV, and they drove off with it. When it was recovered later, it had been emptied of everything inside, except for the briefcase.
Either the thieves deemed it not worthy of their time and effort, or they made a copy of the film before abandoning the car. Studio sources are fearing the latter, apparently.
“That film’s been blighted by challenges but everyone involved is excited by how it’s come together. Finally the end’s in sight,” says one tipster. “So, after all the hard work, the thought of it being leaked after delays forced the release back to next year is devastating.”
Because of this incident, all copies of Maverick are now traveling with their own security detail. Paramount is not taking chances anymore.
Hoping for the best and a 2022 release, here’s the Maverick trailer to keep you going. Tom Cruise describes the film as a love letter to aviation.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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