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Spotted: Cast of Mission Impossible 8 Aboard USS George HW Bush

Tom Cruise aboard a carrier'

Published Mar 12, 2023 10:15 AM by The Maritime Executive

The U.S. Navy has confirmed that actor Tom Cruise recently visited the carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which is currently deployed in the Mediterranean. Italian media previously reported that Cruise was filming segments for the next "Mission Impossible" movie aboard the carrier, and his fellow travelers on the visit - director Christopher McQuarrie, editor Eddie Hamilton and actress Hannah Waddington - all have a hand in the upcoming film. 

While aboard, the team took time to pose for selfies, and they held a screening of Cruise's blockbuster ode to naval aviation - "Top Gun: Maverick" - in the ship's hangar bay. The Oscar-nominated show got a good review from the commanding officer. 

"While 'Top Gun' will always be an American and Navy classic, Tom, Chris, Eddie, and their team outdid themselves with 'Top Gun: Maverick!'” said CO Capt. Dave Pollard, a Top Gun graduate and former instructor. "Every minute they spent with the crew . . . paid dividends toward our crew’s morale from the top-down."

Tom Cruise has a long working relationship with the U.S. Navy, dating all the way back to the original "Top Gun" film released in 1986. The sequel was filmed aboard two Navy carriers in San Diego, and its aerial sequences were all performed by Navy pilots.

Earlier this month, Variety reported that Cruise had secured permission to film segments of his next (and possibly last) "Mission Impossible" movie aboard a carrier as well. An Italian film-promotion official confirmed to Variety that Cruise flew into the port of Bari, Italy on February 25 in order to join a carrier in the Adriatic (USS George H.W. Bush). 

After hosting this star-studded visit, USS George H.W. Bush headed into port at Souda Bay, Crete, where the crew will have shore leave for R&R. Bush has been at sea in the Mediterranean since August 2022, when she relieved USS Harry S. Truman in the Mediterranean and took over the role of supporting NATO deterrence amidst the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. 

USS George H.W. Bush's relief will be the long-awaited carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, first delivered in 2017 and now headed for her first full operational deployment, according to USNI.