Tom Cruise is far from finished playing Ethan Hunt, and the actor is gearing up to shoot the next Mission Impossible movie even sooner than expected.

In a recent appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Tom Cruise revealed that he's getting ready to film Mission Impossible 6 next year.

“We’re starting to work on it now," Cruise said. "We’ll probably start shooting it next summer."

This time frame is pretty surprising, as there's always been a gap of several years between each Mission Impossible. Recently, there was a five year break between 3 and 4, and then a four year break between 4 and 5. But if the studio can really get the sixth one into production by next summer, they could easily have it in theaters by 2017.

Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation opens this weekend, and although it's rare for a franchise to stay consistent after so many sequels, this fifth movie is being praised by critics. It features even more incredible stunts from the apparently ageless Tom Cruise, including one where he actually hangs off a plane as it takes off, as we previously reported. Somehow, he hasn't died yet.

So far, each Mission Impossible has been directed by someone new, so the sixth entry should be another chance for a talented filmmaker to bring his unique stamp to the series. The latest director to do so was Christopher McQuarrie, and before him was Brad Bird and J.J. Abrams.

Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation is now playing in theaters.

image courtesy of Stills Press/INFphoto.com