I’d like to introduce you to the new and improved Tom Cruise at the London premiere of Edge of Tomorrow. Let’s call him “Version 4.0.” This version of Tom promotes his new movie by not doing any interviews at all. Maybe he’ll do some later this week. He did politely greet journos on the red carpet, but he’s avoiding a full media blitz. This is an odd strategy. Tom usually appears on major magazine covers for his movies. He’d do GQ, Hollywood Reporter, and Empire. Paparazzi strolls were the norm. Now Tom’s doing the bare minimum and letting co-star Emily Blunt carry the interview load. Will it work? There’s a lot of money riding on this film.

Many of us still remember the Tom of the 1980s. He was a charismatic, mysterious up-and-comer turned A-list movie star. This version of Tom endured through the 1990s. Many people believe that crazy Tom didn’t appear until the 2005 tour of couch jumping. I’ll tell you when Tom started to seem a little “off” to me. He visited Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show in 1998 (here’s a video clip). His smile was too wide, his eyes too enthusiastic. The only reason no one found Tom weird during that interview is because Rosie was playing up her “crush” so much. Tom seemed balanced compared to Rosie’s act.

We all know Tom 2.0. He’s the couch jumper. The guy who stuck his finger into Matt Lauer’s face. The man who swept Katie Holmes into the lovebombing world of Scientology. Once Katie divorced him, we saw Tom 3.0. This was the Tom who couldn’t hold on to his third marriage. He was the defensive Tom who would use the tabloids to broadcast his “father of the year” status but grew angry when the media kept tabs. Just when things couldn’t get worse for Tom’s image, Vanity Fair published their mail-order bride story. Then Tom started to sue tabloids and made a fool of himself. Then — at almost the precise moment that the Edge of Tomorrow trailer debuted — Tom’s former publicist started dishing on her former client. Bad timing for Tom 3.0.

Now we have a new Tom. Silent Tom. Serious Tom. Sad Tom? I can’t decide. This version of Tom would like us to believe that the internet destroyed the movie star. He’s biding his time and hoping that Johnny Depp will implode and make us forget all about disastrous Tom Cruise. Do we care about Tom 4.0?

Emily Blunt looked fantastic last night. She’s wearing an Osman Resort dress that looks fresh and sophisticated. I like it a lot. Emily and Tom have already hopped on an airplane to France. From there, they’ll do NYC. Three premieres in 24 hours to fit the time-warp motif of the movie. This tour would be more interesting if the leading man would say something.

Photos courtesy of WENN