Following months of speculation, Deadline has confirmed that Academy Award-nominee Ana de Armas (Ballerina; No Time to Die; Knives Out) has indeed signed on to star opposite Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible; Top Gun: Maverick; Edge of Tomorrow) in his upcoming undersea supernatural thriller Deeper.
Plot details are buried deep, but the promising feature follows an astronaut who encounters a terrifying force while on a deep dive into a never-before-explored trench.
The film, which has been in the works for nearly a decade, will be helmed by Doug Liman, who previously worked with Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made, both of which were critical and commercial successes.
Cruise and de Armas have been photographed together at multiple events this past year, which has sparked dating rumors, but DHD claims the pair are currently undergoing the extensive diving training required for the project.
Deeper is based off a Max Landis spec that was sold to MGM in 2016, but Cruise's most trusted collaborator Christopher McQuarrie is now handling scripting duties, so it's likely the screenplay has undergone some drastic changes.
At the moment, it's unclear which studio will ultimately pick up the film, as Cruise is currently shopping it around after Warner Bros. determined that its estimated $200 million production budget was too high for them.
However, things seem to be trending in the right direction, especially now that both Cruise and de Armas are expected to be major winners at the summer box office. Cruise's Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is tracking for a five-day launch north of $70 million domestically over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, while Ana de Armas' Ballerina is projected for a $40 million opening two weekends later.
Cruise and McQuarrie are also still developing their space film, working alongside NASA and SpaceX to make it happen, but it's believed Cruise is keen on making Deeper first before rocketing off into the final frontier.
With The Final Reckoning due out next week, Cruise's next project will be an untitled film with 4x Academy Award-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu, which wrapped filming on May 3 after a six-month shoot. He'll co-star with Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed, Emma D'Arcy, Pip Torrens, Corey Johnson, Danny Kirrane, and Joe Hurst.
The highly anticipated Cruise/Iñárritu film is slated to hit theaters October 2, 2026 - having taken over the slot previously held by The Batman Part II, which moved to 2027.