After the surprising success of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, of course Paramount was going to want Tom Cruise to sign on for another film in the franchise and that’s exactly what’s going to happen. The actor has signed on for a fifth M:I film, but the writer/director slot is still wide open.
Paramount and Skydance confirmed the news to Deadline, which reported that whoever gets hired to write and direct will work with J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot. Skydance and Paramount are co-financing again.
Brad Bird made his live action feature debut with Ghost Protocol, but he is not coming back for a second round. Instead, Jack Ryan director Christopher McQuarrie’s name has been considered and Deadline reported that it is still a possibility. However, also on Monday, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that McQuarrie would direct a Warner Bros. remake of the Cold War thriller Ice Station Zebra. It is still unclear if this project will conflict with M:I 5.
Cruise has played Ethan Hunt on the big screen since 1996’s Mission: Impossible. Ghost Protocol proved that he is still beloved worldwide, grossing $700 million. His latest, Oblivion, has grossed $220 million so far and he is set to star in Warner Bros.’ The Man from U.N.C.L.E. adaptation.
image: Amazon