The thing about a gravy train is that, as long as the wheels are rolling, nobody really wants to disembark. Such is the case with Mission: Impossible 6 – the franchise instalment that was recently put on hold while in development, as Paramount considered the reportedly increased financial demands of the series star, Tom Cruise. An undisclosed deal has now been reached, however, and the film is right back on track, for a spring 2017 shoot.
Also remaining on the franchise locomotive is Christopher McQuarrie – director of 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. In addition, Rebecca Ferguson will also reprise her role from that most recent instalment. It has been suggested that the style and tone of the sixth film will be significantly different from those previous series entries, which might indicate that the filmmakers involved are seeking to revitalize what is now becoming a somewhat tired format.
The next question is one of scale and scope. The Mission: Impossible films have grown in spectacle with each successive instalment – with the most recent featuring Tom Cruise actually hanging from an aircraft, mid-takeoff. It boggles the mind the kind of stunts a sixth chapter would need to execute effectively in order to make the film a success. However, it does seem that the name Tom Cruise still guarantees a relatively high return on investment, with audiences continuing to flock to his films upon release.
For Mission: Impossible 6, though, audiences will have some time to wait. If shooting does in fact commence in the spring of 2017, the film still won’t reach cinemas until spring 2018 at the earliest.
