We reveal what really went on at the red carpet premiere.

Japanese audiences usually have to wait months to see Hollywood films in local cinemas so when it was announced that  Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning would premiere here on 23 May, the same date as the U.S., fans couldn’t believe their luck.

Things got even better when it was revealed that Japanese audiences could enjoy special advance screenings from 17 May, and then, as the icing on the cake, Tokyo was chosen to be the first stop on the global promotional tour. This was a big deal, not just for fans in Japan but for the cast as well, who made it their mission for Tokyo to be the first port of call, to make up for the fact that they were scheduled to come here for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in 2023 but had to cancel at the very last minute due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

▼ Their return to Tokyo couldn’t have been better placed, with a special red carpet event held at the plaza of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku on 6 May.

The first famous face to appear on the red carpet wasn’t a member of the cast — it was Yuriko Koike, the governor of Tokyo, whose office is located inside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.

After addressing the press and the 1,000 fans who won the chance to attend the premiere through a lottery, Koike was then joined by the man everyone had come here to see — Tom Cruise.

Cruise then surprised everyone by bringing two of his closest Japanese pals out for photos. Though not famous overseas, these two are well-recognised here, with the person on the far right being Tomokazu Morikawa, who does the Japanese dubbing for Cruise in his films, and Natsuko Toda, who has been Cruise’s Japanese interpreter since his early days as a movie star.

88-year-old Toda, who shares the same birthday as Cruise, is also known as the “Subtitle Queen”, having subtitled over 1,500 English-language films in Japanese. Recently recognised for her work in film with an Order of the Rising Sun, an honour awarded by the national government and conferred by the Emperor of Japan, Cruise would go on to give her a standing ovation at a press conference the next day, impressively addressing her as “Toda-san”, using the correct and respectful honorific for her name, and thanking her for her assistance.

▼ The two clearly share a great bond.

Then it was time for the film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie, to step into the spotlight with Cruise. McQuarrie first rose to fame after winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Usual Suspects at the age of 26, and these two have been working together since 2008’s Valkyrie.

Behind Cruise and his friends and colleagues was a panel with artwork of the star, hanging from a biplane as he does during a tense moment in the film. The art was actually a blown-up panel of an ukiyo-e woodblock print, created for this event by an artist called OZ-Yamaguchi Keisuke, who also made an appearance.

With rain falling at the time, McQuarrie pulled out a cloth to respectfully clear water droplets off the artwork…

▼…so that he and Cruise could pose with the print alongside the artist.

▼ Cruise then stopped for a few photos…

…before making his way out to the plaza to begin greeting fans, stopping to sign autographs and spend precious moments with the people who had been standing in the rain to meet him.

As Cruise made his way slowly up the red carpet, Greg Tarzan Davis was introduced to the crowd.

Davis has been working with Cruise since appearing as one of the pilots in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick.

While Cruise drove crowds wild when he stepped out into the plaza, Davis soon became a crowd favourite with his suave poses.

The minute he raised two heart-shaped hands to either side of his face, the press let out an audible giggle of approval, and his popularity became apparent as he walked the red carpet to shouts of his name.

No one was happier to see Davis than Cruise, with the two embracing each other as they crossed paths on the red carpet.

Then it was time for Simon Pegg to greet the crowds in Tokyo, stepping out in a bespoke suit from U.K. tailor Joshua Kane.

Pegg absolutely shone on the red carpet, with his jewellery, glasses and suit reflecting the bright lights and flash bulbs of the press, making him gleam like a true Hollywood movie star.

From the world of ’90s British TV comedies like Spaced to a Mission Impossible premiere in Tokyo, Pegg remains humble despite his global fame, expressing his love for Japan with shouts of “konnichi wa!” and “arigato gozaimasu!”, which quickly endeared him to crowds.

Then, Pom Klementieff stepped out and immediately turned heads with a see-through outfit that barely covered her bits.

There was an audible gasp of surprise as she turned to the side, revealing the see-through dress hung off her frame in a way that looked like it was inches away from a wardrobe malfunction.

Klementieff turned heads as she walked the red carpet with her red outfit, red locks, and…

▼ …red-flecked heels.

▼ Louboutins like these don’t come cheap.

▼ Then, Hayley Atwell graced us with her presence.

Atwell was dressed in a Pre-Fall 2025 cocktail dress from London-based fashion house Erdem, with a hand-draped bodice, crystal embroidered applique and a giant “exploded bow” on the back.

As night fell, McQuarrie was joined by his wife Heather and daughter Wilhelmina for a few photos…

▼…then the film’s promotional photographers photographed the press photographers…

▼ …and Cruise finished his rounds with fans, saying “I’ll be back” while promising to return for something special.

That something special turned out to be a group photo session, where they each spoke to the crowd, thanking everyone for their support. Tom also turned to his colleagues at one point and thanked them for their dedication to the movie as well.

However, that was just a teaser for the main event. When the lights dimmed, Tom counted down from three, and then said, in a dramatic fashion, “Light the fuse”. This set off a projection mapping sequence that played out on the side of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building as the Mission Impossible theme song blared from the speakers.

Dramatic scenes from the film appeared as an image of a lit fuse worked its way up the building, culminating in the words: “Tom Cruise Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning“, with a giant image of Cruise’s face staring out at the crowds.

The event then came to a close with fireworks, and the cast gave one last wave to fans as they headed off to watch the film with a selection 0f 300 fans at a nearby cinema.

▼ Sayonara, Tom. Looking forward to seeing you on your 26th trip to Japan.

Yes, this was the 25th trip to Japan for Tom, and this is our second year seeing him, after he made us swoon at the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in 2022. Here’s hoping we’ll see him again the next time he lands on our shores!

Photos ©SoraNews24
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