It’s a Shame We Will Never Get to Play as Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible Games for an Upsetting Reason

The video game library is filled with adaptations of popular films with beloved characters, yet iconic characters like Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt from the Mission Impossible franchise have remained surprisingly absent. For a franchise that thrives on espionage and action-packed sequences, a game showcasing Cruise as the main character would have connected with fans.

Despite the movie’s existence since 1996, there are only two official Mission: Impossible games and both of them don’t feature Cruise playing the titular character even once. The reason behind this lies in Cruise’s personal decisions and contractual clauses, effectively prohibiting anyone from using him or his character in any video game adaptations. This has left fans wondering why he made that decision.

The Reason Behind Tom Cruise’s Absence

Without a doubt, Tom Cruise is one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, known for his high-octane performances and dedication to each role. However, despite his commitment to the Ethan Hunt character and Mission Impossible franchise, he has avoided giving his approval for using his likeness in video games.

It has been reported that the reason behind this absence lies in his contracts which prohibit the use of his image for merchandise, which also includes video games. This highlights Cruise’s desire to maintain a degree of control over his image and how it is represented. However, despite these reports, some speculated that this decision could be tied to his beliefs in Scientology, where there are notions regarding privacy and the integrity of one’s image.

Outside of Scientology, many fans also believe that he simply wants to keep the true essence of his characters within the cinematic experience and not branch out into video games, toys, or other merchandise. By doing this, he is ensuring that everything associated with him meets his very high standards.

Additionally, Cruise’s peculiar choice about not allowing his likeness to video games could also be driven by a common belief that video games can’t fully grasp the essence of the movies and will fall short of capturing his performances. The perfect example would be the game based on Cruise’s The Mummy movies (2 of them are forgotten already) which also doesn’t feature him as the main protagonist as well.

Regardless of the reasoning, the outcome remains the same: fans of Tom Cruise will never see his likeness in any Mission: Impossible video game or any games in particular, leaving a significant void for fans, who were eager to engage with his character.

A Glimpse of Hope for the Fans

Interestingly, there was a time when even Tom Cruise was interested in playing games. There is an old report that suggests that Cruise once called the developers of Bungie when he got stuck in the game called Marathon. While it was not completely proven since his team called, it still indicates that Cruise has some appreciation for video games.

However, despite this small glimmer of hope, it is highly unlikely that fans will ever see Cruise’s face in any future Mission: Impossible games. The prohibitions imposed by his contracts have created a seemingly impenetrable barrier. Even if any developer decides to create a game based on his movies, they have to do it without his likeness and his character.

As game developers continue to embrace and create adaptations of various films such as James Bond and Indiana Jones, the absence of Cruise’s likeness is going to be one of the missed opportunities which will leave fans wondering what could have been if he had given an opportunity to experience the thrill of being Ethan Hunt firsthand.

In the end, as fans continue to enjoy the films, they can only speculate and hope that Tom Cruise will one day play one of his titular characters in a video game.

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