How Many Times Does Tom Cruise Die In Edge Of Tomorrow On-Screen?

Back in 2014, Tom Cruise and director Doug Liman unleashed a modern sci-fi classic in the form of "Edge of Tomorrow." Based on the Japanese light novel "All You Need Is Kill," the film focuses on a world at war with aliens. Cruise's hapless William Cage finds himself in the middle of a time loop as he's trying to fight the aliens. Each time he dies, Cage's day is reset, forcing him to find a way out of his never-ending cycle of death.

An immersive and playful picture that riffs on classics like "Groundhog Day," the film stands out as one of Cruise's most fascinating non-franchise offerings. Throughout the nearly two-hour-long film, Cruise dies a number of times, forcing his day to reset. Just how many times does the action maverick die on-screen in "Edge of Tomorrow," though? An infographic by X (formerly known as Twitter) user @george_hatzis from 2015 reveals that Cruise dies a whopping 26 times on-screen in the sci-fi flick.

@george_hatzis

Of course, this doesn't account for the numerous times Cruise's Cage dies off-screen. In the film, Cage enlists the help of all-around badass and war hero Sergeant Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) to help train him for the battle with the aliens. She puts him through the ringer, leading to several deaths that we don't see on-screen. We don't know exactly how many times Cruise dies in "Edge of Tomorrow," but Liman has thrown out a suggestion. "If you love Tom Cruise, you see him giving a genius performance, and if you hate Tom Cruise he dies like 200 times in the movie," Liman said at an event in 2014 attended by The Guardian. 

What's brilliant about "Edge of Tomorrow" is how it subverts the cultural standing that Tom Cruise has. Cruise has carved out a generation-spanning reputation as an action superstar who always lives to tell the tale. From franchises like "Mission: Impossible" to "Top Gun," Cruise is always portrayed as a perfect hero who laughs in death's face. "Edge of Tomorrow" plays with this persona, flipping it on its head by being one of the few films to show the actor die. Director Doug Liman has also spoken about how "Edge of Tomorrow" is unique in that Cruise plays a coward. "The amount of times he squeals in this movie — he's an amazing squealer! Other movie stars, in my experience, would have been more hesitant about being that vulnerable," Liman said (via The Guardian).

In an interview with ScreenSlam, Cruise discussed the importance of death in "Edge of Tomorrow" and how it comes in many different ways, which is what makes the movie so compelling. "In this film, death is emotional and it's also quite humorous," he said, before discussing how he wanted the stunt team to make each death feel unique. Emily Blunt, for her part, loved having to kill Cruise several times, telling the same outlet that it was "so much fun," adding, "I got to kill him in many different ways." Of course, at the end of "Edge of Tomorrow," Cruise's character breaks out of his death cycle, but fans would love to see Cage thrust back into his nightmare — there's been talk of an "Edge of Tomorrow" sequel for some time now.

While "Edge of Tomorrow" was a critical success, it wasn't the box office hit that Warner Bros. was expecting, grossing just north of $370 million worldwide. This seemingly put the brakes on the potential franchise. However, despite lukewarm financial receipts, a sequel has tentatively been in the works ever since the film debuted. Director Doug Liman and the film's creative teams have teased a follow-up several times, but things have simply never gotten off the ground. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly in 2021, Emily Blunt revealed that she read a script for a sequel that she loved. "That was an amazing script, but I just don't know what the future holds for it," she said.

Since then, there's been some potentially positive developments on the "Edge of Tomorrow" sequel front. In early 2024, Tom Cruise signed a major production deal with Warner Bros., with him and his team setting up an office at the studio. While it's unclear what exactly Cruise will make at Warner Bros., a report from The Hollywood Reporter states that execs at the studio want to rope Cruise in for a sequel to "Edge of Tomorrow." It remains to be seen if that actually happens, but the film's clout has only grown over the last decade, and the sequel would no doubt make waves at the box office. It would also be a brilliant start to Cruise and Warner Bros.' new relationship. Hopefully, fans will get to see William Cage die a bunch of more times in the near future.