Tom Cruise hails fans in the UAE at the premiere of Mission: Impossible in Abu Dhabi

The Hollywood star signed film posters and posed for selfies on the red carpet

Tom Cruise speaks during the premiere of Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi. All photos: Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Fans take photos with Cruise

Actress Pom Klementieff speaks at the event

A fan hugs actor Simon Pegg

Cruise raved about Abu Dhabi as a filming location

Excited fans wait for the stars of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One to arrive

Fans take photos with Cruise

English actor Pegg points at fans

Cruise signs autographs on the red carpet

From left, cast members Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Cruise, Klementieff and director Christopher McQuarrie

Fans take photos with Cruise

Klementieff on the red carpet

Cruise waves to fans

Pegg and Atwell interact with fans

Director McQuarrie on the red carpet

Cruise speaks to media

Actress Atwell on the red carpet

Cruise signs autographs on the red carpet

Tom Cruise took to the red carpet at Emirates Palace Mandarin Oriental on Monday for the Middle East premiere of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.

The lavish venue was decked out with Mission: Impossible branding for the premiere which involved a band performing a Middle Eastern variation of the famous theme song ahead of the screening. A Fiat 500, which features heavily in the film, was also displayed near the red carpet.

Cruise was joined by other cast members from the film for the regional premiere, including Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, and Pom Klementieff, as well as director Christopher McQuarrie.

The 60-year-old actor appeared on the red carpet to adoring cheers as fans yelled, “We love Tom”. He also took time to sign film posters and pose for selfies with fans.

Cruise told The National that he looks forward to his visits to Abu Dhabi.

He said that filming in the UAE capital was always memorable, particularly for its photogenic locations and the professionalism of the local crew.

“It’s great to be back,” he said. “The people are amazing. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to come film here. Now I have so many friends [here]. Also, the film crew that we had here, that we worked together with, it was a wonderful experience.”

McQuarrie echoed the sentiment, saying that Abu Dhabi was unique for its “one-of-a-kind” locations. The filmmaker said that working “with people here is really extraordinary,” and that “the Empty Quarter and airport locations are one-of-a-kind.”

Having directed a handful of Mission: Impossible titles, McQuarrie said he wanted the latest instalment of the franchise to be an epic one, bigger than any of its predecessors, hence he decided to split the film into two parts.

“I wanted to make it more emotional,” he said. “And with that, we were going to end up with a much bigger movie. With Mission: Impossible – Fallout, we were really struggling to get that movie’s running time down. Because of the character emotion that we added to the action, we decided to make a bigger movie and cut it in half.”

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is the seventh instalment of the franchise.

It will make its way to cinemas in the UAE earlier than in other parts of the world. Vox Cinemas has confirmed the film will be released on July 9, three days before it is scheduled to be released in the US.

Following its Middle East premiere in Abu Dhabi, the cast and crew will travel to Seoul on June 29, Sydney on July 3, New York on July 10 and Tokyo on July 17.