Into the Tom Cruise-verse: the actor has signed a deal that basically gives him his own extended universe

If you love Tom Cruise, then you're in luck, as the actor has signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery which means we're likely to be seeing a whole lot more of him. In fact, we're basically looking at a Tom Cruise extended universe, here. Welcome to the Cruise-verse. 

Per Variety, Cruise has a deal with the studio to both develop and produce movies, which will be a mixture between franchise films and originals and will be starring Cruise. 

But, this isn't an exclusive deal, so Cruise is free to make films elsewhere – he's still starring in the Mission: Impossible franchise with Paramount, for example. 

"We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry," Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group co-chairs Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said in a statement. "Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with [Warner Bros. Discovery chief] David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, 'We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!'

"Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition," the statement continues. "We couldn't be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead."

Cruise sounded equally excited in his own statement. "I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience," he said. "I look forward to making great movies together!"

Considering Cruise's status as a box office king – Top Gun: Maverick drew in over $1 billion at the box office back in 2022, prompting Steven Spielberg to credit Cruise with saving Hollywood – this seems like a pretty good deal for Warner Bros. There's no word yet on what kind of movies we can expect out of the deal, but we're looking forward to finding out more. 

For everything 2024 has in store for us, check out our guide to all the upcoming major movie release dates to get planning your theater trips.