Tom Cruise Says AI Is Coming, but Cinema Still Needs the Human Touch

Tom Cruise has weighed in on artificial intelligence and its growing role in filmmaking, telling a London audience that while the technology is inevitable, cinema's future still rests on human creativity and the shared experience of a theatre.

The Hollywood star was speaking at BAFTA's "Life in Pictures" conversation, where moderator Edith Bowman asked him about AI's impact on an industry he has worked in for four decades. The question noted that the Mission: Impossible films have often sat at the cutting edge of film technology, with 2025's Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning casting AI as its central antagonist.

Cruise's answer leaned on the human element. "Here's the thing: There is nothing like human," he said, explaining that one reason he remains committed to the theatrical experience is its power to bring people together. He said he had nothing against streaming, but described watching a film in a theatre as a different art form altogether.

As evidence that audiences still want that collective experience, he pointed to this summer's box office, which took in a record USD 4.76 billion between May 1 and Labour Day. "People want that experience. They're going to movie theaters," he said, adding, "I always believe in humanity."

On AI itself, Cruise acknowledged that the technology is becoming an increasingly important part of the entertainment landscape, but urged filmmakers to keep their focus on creativity. "You know, it is coming and it's going to happen," he said. "But people want to see real things."

The conversation also touched on his wider career, spanning films such as Top Gun, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia and the Mission: Impossible franchise, as well as his upcoming project Digger. Directed by Academy Award winner Alejandro G Iñárritu, the film casts Cruise as a wealthy oil tycoon, a role that required a dramatic physical transformation involving a fat suit and prosthetics that initially took six hours to apply.

"I've never read a movie like this," Cruise said, calling it the most original film and one of the most moving he has ever seen. Digger is set to arrive in theatres on October 2 through Warner Bros.