Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) and former Breaking Bad actor Jesse Plemons have joined Tom Cruise in director Doug Liman’s in-production action/drama Mena. The 80s-set film is currently shooting over in Georgia and Cruise has already been spotted plodding around in some fantastic eighties costume, complete with Top Gun style aviator shades (see below).
Mena revolves around the character of Barry Seal (Cruise), ‘a hustler and TWA pilot unexpectedly recruited by the CIA to run one of the biggest covert operations in U.S. history — one that spawned the birth of the Medellin cartel and eventually almost brought down the Reagan White House through the Iran Contra scandal.’
The film sees Cruise reunite with director Liman. This is their first collaboration since the rather excellent Edge of Tomorrow, a true highlight of 2014 which really did deserve more at the box-office in terms of dollars taken. If you haven’t seen it, do check it out.
Liman had this to say to Variety regarding Mena.
[quote_box_center]“I love stories of improbable heroes working against the system, and Barry Seal took the government, and our country, for an unbelievable ride,” said Liman. “Interpreting his story has the makings for an entertaining film that is equal parts satire, suspense and comedy — and always surprising.”[/quote_box_center]
Sarah Wright, Caleb Landry Jones, Jayma Mays, Benito Martinez, E. Roger Mitchell, Lola Kirke, and Alejandro Edda also star.
Mena will release on 6th January, 2017 while Cruise will next be seen in cinemas this summer, in the blockbuster Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation, which arrives on 31st July.
