After more than a decade apart, CBS and Viacom announced a new merger on Tuesday. A new company called ViacomCBS will emerge as a new corporate umbrella, and underneath it will be heavy-hitter brands like Paramount Pictures, CBS TV, Showtime, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, among others. And in the midst of this deal, it seems the ideas are beginning to flow, and in some cases, formulating into something bigger.
And that appears to be the case with one of Paramount Pictures’ hottest products, Mission: Impossible. Following the success of last year’s trailblazing action film, Fallout, the IMF team will be making its return to the small screen.
As reported by /Film, and confirmed by sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who told us that Robert Pattinson was locked in for Batman, and that the leads of Ghostbusters 3 would be young teens – a spinoff series is indeed in development, with one important disclaimer. Tom Cruise, who’s starred as Ethan Hawke in all six movies, will not be involved. Instead, the show’ll focus on another division of the Impossible Missions Force.
While details are slim for the time being, it’s important to note that this isn’t the first time the franchise has appeared on television. In fact, it began as a TV series. With a successful run from 1966-1973, it starred Peter Graves, Martin Landau and Barbara Bain and earned three Golden Globes before closing shop. It then reemerged for a two-year stint in 1988, with Graves as the lone returner from the original cast. Graves never made his way back to the IMF scene following that second series, but his character, Jim Phelps, was controversially the central antagonist of Cruise’s first M:I film.
In the nearly 30 years since Mission: Impossible left television, it’s garnered a consistent and growing audience. So perhaps now’s the perfect time to bring a new team into the spotlight? Stay tuned for further updates.
