Overview

• Warner Bros. executives Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy paused development this week when Cruise and director Doug Liman insisted on a roughly $275 million production budget that exceeded the studio’s $230 million threshold.
• The decision reflects tighter budget scrutiny under Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav, who has reined in high-cost projects following recent box-office disappointments like Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
• Cruise is now shopping Deeper to other studios, with Universal Pictures emerging as the most likely new backer under his non-exclusive deal with Warner Bros.
• It remains unclear whether star Ana de Armas and key creative personnel will stay attached if Deeper relocates, a shift that could delay the start of production.
• First announced in 2016, Deeper has cycled through multiple actors and directors and undergone major script rewrites by Christopher McQuarrie after an original draft by Max Landis.