Smartly turned out in a military uniform and aviator sunglasses, Tom Cruise stepped out of an RAF helicopter into an unusually empty Trafalgar Square in London yesterday.

And, while it may appear he was reliving his Top Gun days, the 50-year-old was being filmed for new movie All You Need Is Kill.

Normally a hive of activity, Trafalgar Square was deserted during the early morning shoot, with police blocking entrance roads to keep passers-by off the set. A fleet of trucks and armoured vehicles parked next to Nelson’s Column transformed the square into an eerie war zone.

The film, which also starts British actress Emily Blunt, 29, tells the story of a soldier fighting against invading aliens who becomes trapped in a time loop.

Cruise has been living in the UK for several months while filming in Hertfordshire.