Earlier today, Elisabeth shared with you a Slate story that questioned whether United Artists photoshopped a picture of Claus von Stauffenberg so that it would look more like Tom Cruise when they were promoting the casting of the actor in Bryan Singer's Valkyrie. That post is over here. Read it. Love it. Investigate! In the same Slate story, however, they talk a bit about Mission Impossible 4. There's been rumblings recently of a new Mission Impossible -- how Cruise and Paramount's Sumner Redstone wined and dined one another -- leading many to believe they may patch things up and move forward on a sequel. Wonderful. Fabulous. Let's hold hands.

Not so fast. Slate says Paramount offered Cruise the chance to produce the sequel (they have to since it's in his contract), but not star in it. Not star? Cruise? No way. And that's exactly what happened: Cruise turned down their offer. Now, says Slate, Paramount may hold off on making a new Mission Impossible until their contract with Cruise's production company expires. This will then free them up to go out, cast some hot young stud as the new Ethan Hunt (or some other random Hunt-type dude), and continue along with a fairly popular action franchise.

But should they?

The seas haven't been smooth for used-to-be-totally-loved shortie Tom Cruise. Lions for Lambs didn't help his career commercially, and Valkyrie continues to have problems, so of course, thoughts would turn to his popular fluff fare. There have been some rumors about Mission: Impossible 4, and according to Slashfilm, an insider has told Life & Style Magazine: "Tom will make M:I 4 once Paramount greenlights the script. There will most definitely be another Mission: Impossible!"

This could be pure rumor just as much as fact, but I imagine it's true. There's only so long Cruise can stay relevant in the tabloids unless he gets back on track professionally, or jumps on some more couches. But I wonder if it could, or will, be a hit. Excitement has moved to other franchises, and while number three still brought in some cash, it's gross was under the money pulled in by the first two.

So, the question becomes: What could Paramount do to make this film relevant, other than re-starting the franchise with a new actor? Should this be a story about passing the torch? Is there a way to make people visit the film in bigger hordes? Should Tom Cruise give up, or is there a different franchise that might help his career?

Even though Paramount and Tom Cruise are no longer best friends forever (or BF4Evah), that's not stopping the studio from moving ahead with potential plans to extend the Mission Impossible franchise. And, since Cruise will no longer star, they're looking to entice none other than Brad Pitt into the lead role.

What will they entice him with? How about throwing the man a cool $40 million, making Pitt the highest-paid movie star in history. Of course, this info comes via one of those super secret "studio insiders" -- and we all know how reliable they are. Also, according to the "insider," if a Mission Impossible 4 were to happen, the character of Ethan Hunt will be replaced with "a gutsy new head operative who puts together his own unique team of specialists." More than likely, they will explain Hunt's departure by saying he retired to spend a normal life with his wife.

So, if he's willing to accept it, Brad Pitt could be in charge of taking the Mission Impossible franchise in a whole new direction. However, I assume Paramount would want to sign him to at least two films -- something I can't see Pitt doing. What do you think?

Note: This post will self destruct as soon as Vin Diesel's name gets mentioned.

[via JoBlo]