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Christopher McQuarrie locks down deal to direct two more Mission: Impossible films
Christopher McQuarrie is accepting a mission that many thought to be virtually impossible: He'll be directing two more Mission: Impossible movies for Paramount, Variety confirmed.
Moreover, both projects will be shot back to back, with the first one opening in the summer of 2021 and the second debuting the following summer. This is a tactic previously used by Warner Bros. for the final two Harry Potter features and by Marvel Studios for Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which means that the next two M:I offerings could be heavily linked in terms of plot.
McQuarrie addressed this major deal earlier today when he tweeted: "Missions: Accepted #MissionImpossible."
The franchise's main star, Tom Cruise, also weighed in with a tweet that reads: "Summer 2021 and Summer 2022." The caption accompanies a short video of the letters "M:I" surrounded on both sides of burning fuses, a trademark of the original series and modern-day movies.
McQuarrie, a writer/director double threat, helmed the last two installments of the franchise, Rogue Nation (2015) and Fallout (2018), the only filmmaker in over 20 years to make more than one of the films in the franchise. Over the years, Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams, and Brad Bird have all made their unique marks on the Mission: Impossible brand, but none has stuck around like McQuarrie has.
His contributions have been very well received by both critics and audience members. Indeed, Fallout has the highest percentage of any Mission: Impossible movie on Rotten Tomatoes. It also made nearly $800 million at the global box office.
Given that each entry involves a hefty amount of location scouting, practical stunts, and CGI work, it's impressive to see that McQuarrie isn't yet burned out by all the hard work that goes into making these massive motion pictures, whose ambitions have grown with the years.
Tom Cruise will most likely reprise his role as top-notch IMF agent Ethan Hunt, one of two characters to appear in every single film in the series since 1996; the other is Ving Rhames' computer whiz, Luther Stickell, who we expect to return as well. Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Jane Carter (Paula Patton), Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby), and Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan) are also characters whose returns are very probable.
Variety's report states that production on the seventh installment could begin this year, although McQuarrie will need to lock down a script first, something he'll focus on while Cruise finishes up the Top Gun sequel, Maverick.
