Tom Cruise is living out his musical theatre dreams.
On the “Late Late Show with James Corden”, the “Top Gun: Maverick” star teamed up with the host to join the live cast of The Lion King.
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The segment opened with a flashback to the duo’s last big stunt together, flying around in super fast jets, with Cruise telling Corden that the next thing they should do is a musical.
But arriving at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, Cruise is asked, “You and me are about to join the cast of the biggest show in Broadway history. We will perform live in The Lion King. What do you say?”
“I say no,” Cruise answered.
“Other than that,” Corden pressed him, to which the actor responded, “No, thank you?”
But Corden brought him along anyway to meet the cast, though he admitted they didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for the show that night.
“Yes there’s singing. Yes there’s dancing. Yes there’s puppet work. When me and you get out on that stage, look at it, we’re gonna set this place on fire. Because you’re Tom Cruise, and you were born to be in The Lion King,” the host attempted to comfort him, only to watch Cruise run away.
The pair then went through a series of rehearsals to get into character as a two-man rhinocerous puppet during the show’s “Circle of Life” opening, walking through the audience to the surprise of fans.
Later in the show, they took on bigger roles, returning to the stage as the iconic characters Timon and Pumba.
The audience was clearly delighted to see Corden as Timon and Cruise as Pumba, singing “Hakuna Matata”.
When it was all over, the duo had a few more surprises up their sleeves for “Late Late Show” fans as Corden’s time on the show comes to an end.
