Tom Cruise is set to perform a spacewalk for an upcoming film, making him the first civilian to do so.

Speaking to the BBC, Universal chairwoman Dame Donna Langley revealed that the actor, if all goes to plan, will be blasted into space to film scenes on and outside the International Space Station.

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“Tom Cruise is taking us to space. He’s taking the world to space. That’s the plan,” she said.

“We have a great project in development with Tom, that does contemplate him doing just that. Taking a rocket up to the space station and shooting and hopefully being the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station.”

Further details about Cruise’s top-secret blockbuster are currently being kept under wraps, but Langley did provide a rough outline of the plot.

“He will play a down-on-his-luck guy who finds himself in the position of being the only person who could save Earth,” she said.

The concept for the film was first developed in 2020, and while the stunt is currently an “aspiration” for the studio, both NASA and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have announced their intention to assist with the project.

The film will be directed by Doug Liman, who worked with Cruise on 2014’s The Edge of Tomorrow.

In an interview with Deadline, the director said: “I think the reason that Tom is such a superstar is, as much as we’re talking about making a movie not on Earth, I think Tom very much has both of his feet planted on the ground.

“No matter what the movie is he’s like, ‘I’m getting to go make a movie.’ That enthusiasm! He has made god knows how many movies, and he hasn’t lost that enthusiasm.”

In an interview with Thrillist, Liman added: “When a producer proposes something crazy to you, like, let’s try to shoot a movie in outer space, and Nasa and SpaceX sign on, and Tom Cruise signs on…you’re just a little bit more receptive.”

Earlier this year, Cruise revealed that he doesn’t take days off because he is “living the dream”.