Tom Cruise appeared in good spirits as he was greeted by hoards of fans in South Africa where he is currently filming Mission: Impossible 8. 

The actor, 59, who is thought to be staying in the bush town of Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province, flew in by helicopter and stopped to chat with fans, saying their hospitality ‘means a lot’ to him.

The film star removed his face mask after stepping off the helicopter and told fans: ‘It’s so awesome to see you. I can’t wait for you to see the next movie. Thank you for coming out today.’

Star: Tom Cruise appeared in good spirits as he was greeted by hoards of fans in South Africa where he is currently filming Mission: Impossible 8

One of them asked Tom if he would ever move to South Africa to which he said: ‘I’d love to, it would be nice to live here. We’re very excited. We’ve wanted to film here for a very long time.’

Discussing what he saw on his helicopter trip, he said: ‘We just saw some cheetahs or lions, they were right in front of someone’s driveway.’

Before making his leave, the star added: ‘Thank you all for your hospitality. It means a lot to me.’ 

Tom cut a casual figure for the outing as he sported a navy T-shirt, matching jeans and a pair of sunglasses. 

On location: The actor, 59, who is thought to be staying in the bush town of Hoedspruit in the Limpopo Province, flew in by helicopter and stopped to chat with fans, saying their hospitality ‘means a lot’ to him

Mission: Impossible 7 is set for release on July 7, 2023, following a turbulent production which has demanded an unprecedented $290million outlay.

One notable factor in the film’s enormous budget has been the global pandemic, which swept across mainland Europe shortly after principal photography got underway in Venice in February 2020.

Lockdown and a desperate attempt to work around COVID-19 resulted in the production enduring an inauspicious start – with cast and crew forced to stop work after Northern Italy closed its doors.

Sources claim constant infections, coupled with national health restrictions and the pandemic’s refusal to die down resulted in more costs, because crew members needed to be paid, given expenses and offered hotel accommodation during extended quarantine and lockdown periods.

Fans: The film star removed his face mask after stepping off the helicopter and told fans: ‘It’s so awesome to see you. I can’t wait for you to see the next movie’

Meanwhile the film’s release date has been subject to change, with its original September 2021 launch pushed back to July 2022, with Paramount citing ‘delays due to the ongoing pandemic.’

The wait adds interest to an already overblown budget while having a domino effect on work-in-progress Mission: Impossible 8, which is now expected to launch on July 24 2024 instead of its intended release date, July 7 2023.

The relentless pressure to finish the film may well have been the catalyst for Tom’s high-profile outburst on set in December 2020 after a crew-member breached COVID protocol – putting the production in further jeopardy.

‘We are the gold standard!’ Tom was heard yelling in a recording of the incident. ‘They’re back there in Hollywood making movies right now because of us!

Clip: Tom was asked if he would ever move to South Africa to which he said: ‘I’d love to, it would be nice to live here. We’re very excited. We’ve wanted to film here for a very long time’

‘I’m on the phone with every f***ing studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies. We are creating thousands of jobs… we are not shutting this motherf***ing movie down. Is that understood?’

Sources claim there were further issues in 2021, when Paramount were confronted with a bill for $50million in overages, caused by co-producer Skydance declining to exceed their pre-agreed contractual requirement regarding financial contributions.

Tom was recently said to be in crisis talks with Mission Impossible bosses after splashing £290million during the production of the anticipated seventh and eighth instalments.

‘People are starting to sweat on the costs now’: Tom is reportedly in crisis talks with Mission Impossible bosses after splashing £290million (pictured July 2021)

A source told The Sun: ‘People are starting to sweat on the costs now. Nobody could have predicted what has happened but the fact is those delays and extra costs are stacking up now and it’s starting to get noticed. 

‘Even with someone as big as Tom and these films, it’s the sort of money that has leveraged the studio heavily and bosses are desperate to start seeing things hit the screen.’

Top Gun 2 has also been postponed, with the source adding that it’s the ‘first in the pipeline for release’ – two years after it was supposed to premiere.

MailOnline has contacted Tom’s representatives for comment. 

Big spender: The MI:7 release date of September 2022 has shifted to July 2023 – with a bill for excess costs said to be in the region of £50million (Hayley Atwell and Tom filming Mission Impossible in Rome, Italy in November 2020)