Tom Cruise has reportedly been forced to hire "heavy protection" after he and director Christopher McQuarrie allegedly received death threats from a former employee.
The Hollywood star, 60, and award-winning filmmaker, 53, are said to have enlisted the services of heavy-duty bodyguards and a security team after a crew member for Mission: Impossible 8 was let go.
The former employee is also thought to have begun litigation toward Tom, Christopher and Paramount Studios and has made accusations about Russian oligarchs financing Tom's work.
"Tom and Chris are still working on Mission: Impossible 8, mostly in the UK, but things have got increasingly unpleasant with a former crew member and now it's a case of taking no chances.
"It's a bit of art imitating life, on set it's all about heavy protection and threats and now the same thing is going on behind the cameras," a source told The Sun.
According to the outlet, the former employee had been tasked with finding filming locations for stunts, including one scene depicting a major train crash. Their plans, however, were not used in the film.
The insider added: "Tom is used to having security teams around him most of the time because of his fame, but for Chris it's a very new thing.
"Nobody is taking any chances."
The source added that while the situation has turned "nasty", those involved with the film are "confident everything is totally fine".
The Mirror has reached out to Tom's representative for comment.
Christopher and Tom have worked together extensively throughout the years, with Chris directing 2012's Jack Reacher, 2015's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout.
The pair are currently working on Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, with the two-part film series due for release in 2023 and 2024.
Tom recently starred in the hugely successful Top Gun: Maverick, which recorded box office totals of $1.48 billion (£1.35 billion) worldwide following its release back in May.
The A-lister could also soon be making history by performing a spacewalk for an upcoming film. He would be the first civilian to do so.
Universal chairwoman Dame Donna Langley hinted at the future movie, which would see Tom perform a spacewalk if all goes to plan.
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