South Island valley set for Cruise blockbuster

Newly released images reveal the South Island movie set soon to be graced by Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise.

The big budget blockbuster Mission: Impossible 6 is set to be shot in the Rees Valley near Glenorchy, 45km from Queenstown, later this year.

Filming began on April 8 and was announced by director Christopher McQuarrie on Twitter.

Cruise, 54, was seen filming scenes this week in Paris, waving to fans as he rehearsed a high-octane speed boat sequence, reported the Daily Mail.

The sixth instalment in the series is not due for release until next year.

The film’s other stars include Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris and Henry Cavill.

Cruise spent several months in Taranaki filming The Last Samurai in 2003.

The star is known for doing all of his own stunts in the Mission: Impossible movie series, including abseiling down high rise buildings and being strapped to the side of a plane.

Skydance Media chief David Ellison has said the sixth instalment would “top anything that’s come before” and revealed Cruise has been in training for a year in preparation for the role.

“It is going to be, I believe, the most impressive and unbelievable thing that Tom Cruise has done in a movie, and he has been working on it since right after Rogue Nation came out,” Ellison said.

“It’s gonna blowing.”

The film is being shot in Paris, London, India and New Zealand.

Mission: Impossible 6 is due for release on July 27, 2018. be mind-