Tropic Thunderis a movie that has had its fair share of criticism for some of its more controversial aspects, despite those samecontroversies being the biggest reason for the film’s legacyand success. Amid its scathing satire of the Hollywood machine, there is one performance in the movie that came completely from the left of field and caught everyone off-guard -Tom Cruise’s foul-mouthed turn as film producer Les Grossman.
Even though the film featured an incredible roster of stars, including Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and Stiller, Cruise stole every scene he was in as the over-the-top character, and was several times rumored to be getting his own spinoff movie. Now Stiller has seemingly closed the book on the chances of us getting to see Cruise strutting his stuff as Les Grossman again. Speaking toExtra, he said:
“There have been some interchanges about it over the years, yeah. Look, Tom Cruise — one of my favorite human beings, one of our great movie stars of all time — it would be fun, but there is nothing in the works. But we have discussed it in the past.”
This is going to be disappointing news for those who have been holding onto that last thread of hope that Cruise could find just enough space in that big, busy schedule of blockbuster action movies to don the prosthetics of Grossman again. For others, they will probably be just as happy with Cruise continuing to toss himself off mountains for their enjoyment.
A Les Grossman Movie Seemed Possible a Couple of Years Ago
While Stiller’s recent comments have confirmed what many people had already assumed, in 2022, the idea of aTropic Thunderspinoff movie focused on Cruise’s character seemed surprisingly likely. Cruise himself addressed the chances of reprising his fan-favorite, guilt-pleasure role when appearing on the red carpet of theTop Gun: Maverickpremiere, saying:
“I don’t know. I did Les Grossman for the MTV Awards … We’ll have to see, that could be fun. I really don’t know, at this moment. I’m just enjoying this night, I gotta finish [the Mission: Impossible sequels], you know what I mean? I’m enjoying this night, I’m gonna put all my Mission stuff away for a moment to just breathe tonight.”
‘Tropic Thunder’ Star Reveals if the Controversial Action-Comedy Would Get Made Today
The actor and director addressed the legacy of the controversial action-comedy in the modern era.
Other reports at the time suggested that Cruise and hisMission: Impossibledirector Christopher McQuarrie were working on several new projects, includinga possible “song-and-dance” style musicalmovie that may have featured Grossman in some way. However, those stories faded away very quickly and don’t seem to have been mentioned since.
While it now seems that Les Grossman has been put to bed, that doesn’t mean Cruise will never revisit the character. Heading into his 60s, the actor will not be able to perform his death-defying stunts in movies likeMission: Impossibleforever, and in the coming years he could look for something a little more grounded to take over. While grounded is not exactly a word that anyone would really use to describe the character of Grossman, he certainly wouldn’t be throwing himself out of a plane or running along the top of a speeding train.
Tropic Thunder
