Tom Cruise flexes his aviation skills as he safely lands his HondaJet in London amid Mission Impossible 8 filming

Action star Tom Cruise famously learned to fly a fighter jet for his role in Top Gun.

And the Hollywood icon, 61, once again showed off his aviation skills as he landed his HondaJet safely in London on Tuesday.

Tom, who has had his pilot’s license since 1994 and owns several aircraft, can fly helicopters, fighter jets, private planes and even commercial flights.

Tom could be seen sitting in the cockpit wearing headphones as he focused on landing the plane during the stormy weather.

The actor is back in Britain to film the eighth episode of Mission Impossible and was spotted shooting in the heart of Westminster, just roads away from Downing Street.

The dramatic scenes hinted at trouble for Tom’s character, Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt, as the actor was seen in surrender on the road.

Production trucks lined London’s central street as filming kicked off at dawn on Sunday to avoid major disruptions in the city’s usually busy political center.

Dressed in a navy blue padded jacket and trousers, a tense-looking Tom was seen with his hands in the air and lowering himself to his knees.

The untitled film – which will likely be called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two – is scheduled for release on May 23, 2025, after Dead Reckoning Part One was released last July.

MI:8 was supposed to hit theaters this summer, but production had already been postponed due to the Hollywood writers’ strike.

Production on the eighth film was originally halted so the cast could promote part one, but then the strike began causing further delays.

The Mission: Impossible film series began in 1996 and is based on the 1966 television series of the same name.

In addition to starring Tom, the eighth film will also see the return of stars Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff and Vanessa Kirby.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One underperformed at the box office compared to the previous films in the franchise, despite Tom’s attempts to extend the series.

The actor was concerned that Oppenheimer would overshadow the film, as it required the same limited screens.

He was proven right when Oppenheimer earned nearly $400 million more than Mission: Impossible at the box office.

Scenes for the eighth installment were shot in Derbyshire, Surrey and central London, at landmarks including the Natural History Museum in Kensington and Westminster Bridge, where Tom put on his signature action star show.

The Hollywood star filmed a thrilling chase scene outside the House of Parliament during a night shoot last month.

Parliament Square was closed off with barricades, with the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben serving as the backdrop for the dramatic scene for the upcoming film.

Tom’s Mission Impossible character, Ethan Hunt, appeared to fight his way out of danger, wearing a white shirt covered in fake blood under a black jacket.

The A-lister has had a lot of practice filming physically demanding stunts and has become famous for his sprint scenes.

In many of his action roles, especially the Mission Impossible films, he has at least one major sequence.

Tom even joked about his tendency to go for leather in his film, reading in his Twitter bio: “Active in films since 1981.”

Last month, Tom embodied his secret agent alter ego and flew his Mission: Impossible cast and crew to Longcross Studios during the M25 closure to continue progressing filming.

A five-mile stretch of the motorway was closed in both directions due to a planned closure near Surrey, while a bridge was demolished and a new portal installed in a £317 million upgrade project.

Filming for Mission: Impossible took place near the stretch of road between junctions 10 and 11 which closed at 9pm on Friday evening and remained closed until Monday.

To get around the delay, Tom reportedly used a helipad in Battersea to fly the cast and crew of Mission: Impossible 8 to Surrey’s Longcross Studios.

Along with Mission: Impossible, Tom is back in action for a new Top Gun sequel after the huge box office success of the previous entry.

Tom will return as Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and Paramount, which will produce again, hopes to reunite him with his recent co-stars Miles Teller and Glen Powell.

The news that Tom is back in business with Paramount – where he has released many of his recent films – comes just days after he signed a deal with Warner Bros. to produce and develop new films for that studio, including films it will produce. star in it.

According to Puck newsMaverick co-writer Ehren Kruger is writing a script for the third installment in the series.

Sources said The Hollywood Reporter that director Joseph Kosinski is also expected to return after proving himself with the critical and commercial success.

Tom’s last deal with Paramount ended in 2006, despite his continued work with the studio, and the new deal with Warner Bros. is non-exclusive, meaning he can still collaborate with other studios.

However, he is expected to get his own office on the Warners lot.

Tom and his co-stars helped take the highly anticipated sequel Top Gun: Maverick to nearly $1.5 billion, and the action film’s months-long run in theaters helped revive the theater business after the coronavirus pandemic.

Although news of the high-flying sequel struck some as an attempt to capitalize on the positive publicity that Warner Bros. got toned down for scoring a Tom connection, THR reports that its development has been quiet since late fall.

Paramount did not comment on the development.