Tom Cruise watched an early screening of the upcoming DC blockbuster, The Flash. Afterward, Cruise took it upon himself to let the film's director, Andrés Muschietti, to let him know how much he loved the film.
Cruise is one of Hollywood's biggest icons, both currently and of all time, so those who have achieved greatness can see greatness too. Cruise reportedly called Muschietti directly and spontaneously to gush to him about how good The Flash was and said it's the kind of film Hollywood needs right now.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Cruise has seen the movie and loved it so much that he cold-called the movie’s director, Andy Muschietti, to rave about it." On top of that, according to the report, it was an "out of the blue" call. "Cruise is said to have raved about the movie, saying something to the effect that Flash is 'everything you want in a movie' and 'this is the kind of movie we need now.'"
Even though Cruise has never been involved in any superhero franchise, he has been the lead for the Mission: Impossible franchise. He may also be the lead in another, thanks to the incredibly successful Top Gun: Maverick sequel that came out last year. Cruise was one of the biggest stars in show business throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, but has adequately adjusted to keeping his name relevant in this day and age by being the big star in a movie franchise in an era where moviegoers seem to care more about blockbuster popcorn franchises now more than ever. His appeal nowadays is his willingness to perform his own stunts even while being 60 years old.
This is a good sign for the DCU that Cruise, who has been part of multiple well-received blockbusters over the past several years, seemed to believe that not only was The Flash good, but it was also what blockbuster movies should be. The Flash serves as a soft reboot of the DCEU, which is essentially starting from scratch after all the projects they scrapped, so to get the thumbs up from Cruise in their first major release since all the significant changes they made bodes well for them.
The DCEU has been inconsistent with their movies from the beginning, but when they got it right, they nailed it. Getting a Flash movie right should inspire confidence in fans that they have found their footing, especially since Shazam: Fury of the Gods has not received the response they hoped for. Long-term, the real question is whether audiences will be able to look past the Ezra Miller controversies or even if the plan is to keep them around past the film's release.
The Flash will premiere in theaters on June 16, 2023.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter