Tom Cruise has jumped off cliffs, hung from cargo planes, and flown fighter jets on camera. He has carried two of the biggest franchises in movie history. But walk into any toy aisle full of Marvel heroes and Star Wars figures, and you won’t find a single official Ethan Hunt or Maverick action figure.
That’s not an accident. It’s a choice Cruise has stuck with for decades.
Tom Cruise’s Long History of Avoiding Video Game Likeness Deals
Several entertainment outlets have reported that Cruise’s film contracts include a standing clause that blocks his likeness from being turned into merchandise of any kind. It’s often described simply as a rule that his likeness can’t be used to make merchandise. Most A-list actors license their faces for toys, video games, and collectibles as extra income. Cruise has kept that door closed since early in his career.
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This goes back further than a lot of people realize. Back in 2006, Cruise reportedly turned down having his likeness used in the video games for both ‘Mission: Impossible III‘ and ‘War of the Worlds‘. The 2002 game tied to ‘Minority Report’ avoided him even more directly, giving its lead character short blond hair, nothing like Cruise’s actual look.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘Mission: Impossible’ Toys That Never Existed
‘Top Gun: Maverick‘ made the gap even more obvious. The movie was a billion-dollar hit, exactly the kind of success studios usually turn into wall-to-wall merchandise. Instead, an official Maverick figure that actually looks like Cruise is still nearly impossible to find, since Top Gun‘s licensing deals never covered his likeness the way Star Wars or Game of Thrones do. The closest thing fans could get came from unofficial toy makers, and even bootleggers, filling a gap the studios weren’t allowed to fill themselves.
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‘Mission: Impossible‘ follows the same pattern. Ethan Hunt is one of the most bankable action characters of the past thirty years. Yet the only figures that actually look like Cruise have come from fan-made creators, never from an official studio line. Even Funko ran into this wall. After announcing a POP! Vinyl figure of Cruise’s character from 2017’s ‘The Mummy‘, the company pulled it without much explanation. Licensing issues were blamed publicly, but a lot of people in the industry figured it was really about Cruise’s own stance on merchandise.
The Scientology Rumors, Industry Reactions, and What Comes Next
There’s a theory floating around online that this all ties back to Cruise’s connection to the Church of Scientology. But nobody has ever actually proven it. When this clause came up again during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, one toy industry veteran pointed out that likeness restrictions aren’t unusual at all. He remembered having to make “representational” figures for ‘The Fifth Element‘ and ‘Armageddon‘ because Bruce Willis hadn’t given approval either. Cruise’s version is just more total, and more consistent, than almost anyone else’s in Hollywood.
People online seem split between admiration and suspicion. Some praise him for refusing to let his face get bought, sold, and copied, especially now with AI in the picture. Others find it strange that an actor who’s built his whole career on being seen everywhere on a movie poster is nowhere to be found on a store shelf.
Whatever the real reason is, the outcome never changes. Every new Cruise blockbuster brings the same joke from fans, that maybe this time an official figure will finally show up. It never does. As ‘Top Gun 3‘ moves into development, the smart bet is that nothing changes. Plenty of jets, plenty of box office, and still no official Tom Cruise toy anywhere.
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