Warner Bros. Rejects $275M Budget for Tom Cruise’s ‘Deeper,’ Universal in Talks to Acquire

Tom Cruise doesn’t hear “no” very often in Hollywood — but that might be changing.

After Paramount supported the $400M-budgeted “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” only for it to deliver lukewarm box office returns, Cruise is now hitting a wall at Warner Bros.

The project is “Deeper,” which I previously reported was aiming for an August shoot. This underwater action thriller, directed by Doug Liman and starring Ana de Armas, was initially pegged by Deadline at a $200M budget, but a new report has revealed the cost to be significantly higher.

According to Puck’s Matt Belloni, Cruise had been pushing for a $275M budget. Warner Bros. gave no indication that the studio was getting cold feet — especially since they had already sunk money into early development, including pre-vis. However, things suddenly changed; the studio’s ceiling for the budget reportedly now stops at $230M, and sources say they’ve made it clear that they’re not going higher.

That sudden shift has left Cruise and his team scrambling to relocate the film in time for this summer’s shoot. Universal is apparently in the mix to acquire it. Cruise is desperate to get this one going ASAP as he’s been in prep mode for several months.

Liman has described “Deeper” as a “supernatural thriller.” The story follows a disgraced astronaut, played by Cruise, who embarks on a deep-sea mission to explore a recently discovered ocean trench, only to encounter a mysterious and dangerous force.

What studio is willing to drop $275M on an original, underwater sci-fi film with no built-in audience? Surprisingly, Universal. Despite all the obvious red flags, they’ve had talks with Cruise, and are potentially willing to take the risk.