Franchise fatigue? Not for Ethan Hunt. Despite the fact Rogue Nation isn’t due to hit theaters until July 31 – bumped from its initial Christmas release – Paramount is allegedly pushing ahead with Mission: Impossible 6.
That’s according to Tracking Board, who published a report stating that the studio is already drafting up ideas for another installment in the spy series, likely bringing back the likes of Tom Cruise et al. for another globe-trotting mission. TB continues to note that Cruise will once again produce the as-yet-unconfirmed sequel, reuniting with David Ellison and Dana Goldberg of Skydance Productions.
Mind you, it’s worth taking this tidbit with a grain of salt – and even holding that for a closer inspection, too – considering that Tracking Board doesn’t divulge much in terms of concrete details. Nevertheless, ever since Brad Bird’s Ghost Protocol, Mission: Impossible as a franchise has been on the up and up, and it’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility if Paramount opts to crank out as many as possible while Tom Cruise is still relatively young. They could always conceal his wrinkles using one of the face masks – a well-worn trope of the franchise.
As for now, we expect that Paramount will hedge its bets until gauging just how well Rogue Nation performs in a couple months’ time. Fast-tracking the upcoming sequel was seen as bold not so long ago, but the footage released hitherto point to Christopher McQuarrie’s first time at the helm of the spy series producing a bona fide hit. Time will tell, of course; though the fact that Simon Pegg and Jeremy Renner will return, not to mention the addition of Rebecca Ferguson and Prometheus star Sean Harris, has us feeling cautiously optimistic.
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation will make its bow on July 31.