Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning crew's Cannes stunt: What cardinal rule did Tom Cruise break?

Trust Tom Cruise to turn even a red carpet into a stunt.

The Hollywood icon and his Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning cast broke one of the Cannes Film Festival’s cardinal rules on Wednesday night—and somehow got away with it.

Cruise, alongside co-stars Simon Pegg, Hannah Waddingham, Trammell Tilman, and Angela Bassett, arrived at the Grand Théâtre Lumière for the world premiere of the franchise’s final chapter. But instead of keeping to the strict red carpet protocol, the team paused multiple times to snap selfies—several of them taken by director Christopher McQuarrie.

Since 2018, Cannes has banned selfies on the red carpet, calling them disruptive and demeaning to the event’s prestige. Artistic director Thierry Frémaux even warned that such “trivial” behaviour slows down proceedings and “tarnishes” the image of the festival.

But Cruise, ever the maverick, ignored the rule with a smile. A photo later posted on the Mission: Impossible X account featured Cruise, McQuarrie, Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Zhen Lei, and Greg Tarzan Davis, captioned: “Mission: Selfie. Accomplished.”

Let’s be honest—only Tom Cruise could commit a cinematic red carpet crime and still walk away with a standing ovation. Call it a mission: murder of Cannes protocol, but no one’s complaining.

The film was met with a 7.5-minute standing ovation, proving Cruise’s charm—and the franchise’s popularity—remains bulletproof.

“I’m very grateful—very grateful for 30 years to be able to entertain with this franchise,” said Cruise, 62, as he addressed the crowd post-screening. He also paid tribute to McQuarrie, who directed five of the eight films:

“Your absolute care, your talent—you’re absolutely brilliant. It’s been a real privilege and pleasure.”

The Final Reckoning picks up where 2023’s Dead Reckoning Part One left off, with Hunt and his IMF team racing to stop a rogue AI known as the Entity.

With Cannes already in the headlines for its updated dress code banning nudity and long trains, Cruise’s playful defiance added a different kind of drama. But really—are the rules even real when Tom Cruise is on the red carpet?

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning hits UAE cinemas on May 21 and lands in US theatres on 23 May.