'Peak Cringe': Fans baffled after Tom Cruise agrees to perform 'Hakuna Matata' from 'The Lion King' with James Corden
![James Corden and Tom Cruise dressed as Timon and Pumba on 'The Late Late Show' (CBS)](http://d2a0gza273xfgz.cloudfront.net/619165/uploads/36662870-e645-11ed-8fbe-5b07aa16b133_1200_630.png)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Tom Cruise has done a lot of dangerous stunts in her acting career and enthralled us by pushing himself to the limit. However, his latest appearance at ‘The Last Last Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Special’ has made fans believe that they have never seen anything like this before and might be the most ‘bizarre’ thing Cruise has done in his profound career. But why are fans so baffled by the actor’s appearance on the show? Well, they never hoped that they’ll see Tom Cruise dressed as one of the key characters from ‘The Lion King’.
The ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ star joined host James Corden on the final episode of his ‘The Late Late Show’ and performed alongside him in a theatre production of ‘The Lion King’ at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. The special opened with Corden meeting Cruise and telling him that they have done some really insane stunts together in recent years. They have skydived and done numerous other things, but it was time for Cruise to enter Corden’s world this time around.
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![A still from 'The Lion King' production (CBS)](http://d6ehjqrqtzoun.cloudfront.net/23d429d2-21f7-46ee-bd2f-b0b57a5236cb.jpg)
Corden and Cruise crashed 'The Lion King' production
“In the eight years that I’ve hosted ‘The Late Late Show,’ we’ve been skydiving, you’ve flown me upside down, and today you’re going to enter my world, alright?” Corden said.
At first, Cruise seemed hesitant to do something like that, but Corden managed to get him on board. They met the ‘Lion King’ cast and prepared for their part. The ‘Mission: Impossible’ actor also gave an extraordinary speech to the cast before the show and walked onto the stage from the back of the theater. Cruise felt quite relieved when they finished their parts, but Corden told him that they need to do just one more thing before signing off. The duo returned to the stage and as soon as the curtain lifted, the audience started to cheer for them.
“Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase,” Corden said, while dressed at Timon.
“Hakuna Matata, ain’t no passing craze,” Cruise sang, while dressed as Pumba.
It’s a problem-free philosophy! 🦁✨ Did you catch @TomCruise making his on-stage debut at @thelionking during The Last Last @latelateshow with @JKCorden? Watch the full vid here: https://t.co/xrDVSNPK9a pic.twitter.com/6fMuBzvRCr
— The Lion King - Musical (@TheLionKing) April 28, 2023
Fans thought why Cruise would agree to do something like this
The duo performed the iconic song and received a thunderous response from audiences.
Even though they got a standing ovation from everyone present at the Pantages Theatre, people on social media were baffled by Cruise’s choice and trolled the superstar for such a bizarre segment. One of the fans said, “Peak cringe can’t believe Tom agreed to this.” Another social media user commented, “Why would Tom Cruise agree to this.” Another social media user tweeted, “Can’t believe he dragged poor Tom Cruise into this.” Another user wrote, “Rare Cruise missile miss.”
“@TomCruise never in a million years thought I’d see anything close to this!” wrote another user.
🤣🤣🤣🤣 @TomCruise never in a million years thought I’d see anything close to this! 💪🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/kCJg5FOmsp
— Sara Pinto✨🦄🧝🏼♀️🧙🏽♀️🔮✨⫩✨ (@Sarovsky80) April 28, 2023
However, there were many who absolutely loved their performances. One user wrote, “This is an astounding bit of TV. James Corden and Tom Cruise joining the cast of The Lion King for Corden’s final Late Late Show. I cannot imagine how difficult this was to pull off from a production point of view. I watched in awe. And laughed a lot.” Another social media user wrote, “Oh my goodness, what a joy to watch and can’t believe I’m seeing Mavetick as Pumba. Well done.” Another user tweeted, “OMW!!! THIS WAS STUNNING I LOVIT.”
This is an astounding bit of TV. James Corden and Tom Cruise joining the cast of The Lion King for Corden’s final Late Late Show. I cannot imagine how difficult this was to pull off from a production point of view. I watched in awe. And laughed a lot. https://t.co/IghGadzlv1
— 📻 Colin Paterson 📺 (@ColinGPaterson) April 28, 2023
Oh my goodness , what a joy to watch and can’t believe I’m seeing Mavetick as pumba 😂😂😂
— Zereenak (@Zereenak) April 28, 2023
Well done 👍👍👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️
The ‘American Made’ star has several appearances on ‘The Late Late Show’ and made Corden do some really crazy stunts. Now that Corden is leaving the show, it was befitting that the host made Cruise do something that he loved the most.