One of our most anticipated events on the 2025 movie schedule has to be the release of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, as it will be an action-packed and stunt-heavy possible conclusion to the franchise after Cruise has been blowing our minds for nearly 30 years. However, this week’s news that The Academy has added a stunt category at the Oscars has fans livid for the actor (and Mission: Impossible’s achievements), given the timing of the whole thing.
As announced on Thursday by The Academy’s Board of Governors, a new award for “Achievement In Stunt Design” will officially debut at the 100th Oscars ceremony taking place in the year 2028 for 2027 releases. Knowing that The Final Reckoning is coming two years before that has fans all worked up, as this person posted on Twitter:
well-deserved and long overdue and i am elated for the hard-working stunt people….. but it is soooo funny to introduce this the year after the Mission: Impossible franchise ends
@electrolemon
When I think of stunts, it’s pretty much impossible (pun intended) not to think about Tom Cruise’s work across the last three decades. His work, and specifically the action in Mission: Impossible, has pushed the limits of what we think is possible in film.
From Cruise’s Fallout halo jump to his climb up the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol to that motorbike cliff jump in Dead Reckoning or plane hang in Rogue Nation, the actor and his team have pulled off mind-boggling stunts over and over again.
Fans are understandably hurting on behalf of Cruise regarding the timing of the whole thing. Here’s another one:
Tom Cruise realizing he has to make Mission Impossible 9 now, so he can win a Stunt Oscar. pic.twitter.com/PV65cqQ2v5April 10, 2025
Even though Tom Cruise is one of the biggest Hollywood stars and most beloved actors, he’s somehow never won an Oscar, despite being nominated four times. Most recently, his work on Top Gun: Maverick was in contention for Best Picture (along with five other nominations, one of which the movie won for Best Sound), but he chose not to attend the ceremony.
If this category was introduced a few years ago, the actor most certainly would have been in contention and even won for Mission: Impossible, but it seems like he’s just missed the boat. And we’re all bummed about it, as this fan wrote:
[Tom Cruise, learning that the last Mission: Impossible won’t be eligible for the forthcoming Best Stunts Oscar category] pic.twitter.com/pPtIWu7bI3April 11, 2025
It feels valid that fans of Tom Cruise and his movies are livid, especially since calls for the category have been in conversation for so long. As another Twitter user wrote:
The audacity of them to introduce this in 2027, when the best stunts of the last decade have been in four of the Mission Impossible films that would be ineligible for this
@cattbutt
While one fan even commented that it’s not “too late to delay” the upcoming Mission: Impossible to 2027 just to see the movie win an Oscar, a third Top Gun movie is still in development. That could potentially place Tom Cruise in the Oscars game for this award in the future. Plus, I’m sure that even if The Final Reckoning is the last time we see Ethan Hunt, the actor will not leave action behind.
Even so, as another Twitter user said, it’s just too bad The Academy is “robbing” Cruise of one for this year.
Robbing Mr. Cruise of his Oscar for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, I see.
@Cade_Onder
We’ll be waiting three years for the stunt category at the Oscars to debut, but movies starting in 2027 will get to recognize stunt teams and performers, and that in itself is a huge win.
Stunt teams risk their lives to make the scenes we watch on screen as immersive, entertaining and shocking as they are, and we can’t wait to see them finally get the recognition they deserve at the 100th Oscars!
