Once upon a time, there were plans in place for Jeremy Renner to ultimately inherit the Mission: Impossible franchise from Tom Cruise, which were quietly and very sensibly abandoned.
No offense to Renner, but the enduring popularity and success of the long-running espionage series is almost entirely predicated on its leading man and producer, to the point where it’s hard to imagine fans getting excited about a Mission: Impossible adventure that doesn’t feature Cruise putting it all on the line in a succession of crazy stunts.
Of course, Cruise will be less than a week away from turning 62 years old when M:I 8 finally hits theaters in the summer of 2024, and not even the ageless A-lister can keep it up forever. With that in mind, we shouldn’t be too surprised a new report is labeling the eighth outing as a potential sendoff for Ethan Hunt.
As per Variety, Mission: Impossible 7 is poised to end on a major cliffhanger, and Cruise wants production on the eighth chapter to be completed before the seventh releases, so that a seamless transition can be made between the sequels without having to regather the cast and crew for any more reshoots, a sound strategy when the next espionage thriller’s first and last days of shooting occurred nineteen months apart.
