Tom Cruise working with Nasa and Elon Musk to shoot world's first movie in space

The action star, known for doing his own stunts, is set to film aboard the International Space Station

Tom Cruise is working on the first film to shot in space. AFP

Tom Cruise is set to star in a movie shot in outer space, Nasa has revealed.

"Nasa is excited to work with @TomCruise on a film aboard the @Space_Station!," Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote in a tweet on Tuesday.

"We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make @Nasa's ambitious plans a reality," he said.

While Bridenstine gave no details of the film, the tweet followed a report in Hollywood trade outlet Deadline that Cruise was working with Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk to make what would be the first feature film to be shot in space.

The proposed action adventure is in its early stages, according to Deadline.

Representatives for Cruise are yet to comment.

Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise, 57, is renowned for his daredevil films and for doing his own stunts. He flew fighter jets for the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, hung off the side of a plane as it took off in Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation in 2015 and famously climbed Dubai's Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world – for Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

Tom Cruise portraying Capt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in a scene from 'Top Gun: Maverick'. AP

Filming of Mission: Impossible 7 was put on hold in February as the coronavirus epidemic took hold in Italy. Covid-19 has led to a worldwide shutdown of Hollywood film and TV production and the closure of cinemas.