Tom Cruise's next era may begin with an Alejandro G. Iñárritu movie

After focusing on action tentpoles in recent years, the megastar may be pivoting back to auteur-driven projects.

Tom Cruise appears to have found his next screen project — and it could mark a new chapter in his storied career.

The 61-year-old megastar is circling a role in Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu's next movie, EW has confirmed. The untitled Warner Bros. project seems to be Cruise's first under the new "strategic partnership" with the studio that was announced last month.

The news suggests Cruise may be shifting back to auteur-driven films after two decades focusing on action movies like the Mission: Impossible and Jack Reacher franchises. According to a recent Variety report, the actor is seeking to collaborate with more prominent directors in the next phase of his work.

Cruise's interest in working with Iñárritu harkens back to the early days of his acting career, which were dominated by auteur dramas. In the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, Cruise worked with legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese (The Color of Money), Steven Spielberg (Minority Report and War of the Worlds), Stanley Kubrick (Eyes Wide Shut), Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia), Francis Ford Coppola (The Outsiders), and Michael Mann (Collateral).

In recent years, Cruise has almost exclusively starred in action projects, most of which were helmed by Christopher McQuarrie, Joseph Kosinski, and Doug Liman.

Variety has also reported that Cruise is considering an appearance in Quentin Tarantino's purported final film, The Movie Critic, further underscoring his interest in teaming up with top-tier directors.

That's not to say that action projects are off the table, though, as Cruise is starring in the untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film, set to arrive May 23, 2025. He's also reuniting with Liman to shoot an action movie in space, and rumors have long circulated that Edge of Tomorrow 2 is still on the table.

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