mission impossible 4 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

J.J Abrams seems like the busiest man in Hollywood. Thursday morning during a promotional appearance for the release of his franchise relaunch for Star Trek, he updated reporters on what's next for him. "Jeff Pinkner and Joel Wyman are running Fringe very well. We're still very involved in that, but they're running that," he said of the popular sci-fi series. "We have a new series that we just sold to NBC that we're going to be producing. It's a pilot. And, there's a movie that I'm writing that I would love to direct, early next year, so we'll see if that comes to fruition."

In addition to his television work, Abrams highlighted a few of the projects he's working on in the next several months both as a producer and director.

When there was a rumor last year that Mission Impossible could live on without Tom Cruise, most of you were primed to say adios, but it looks like you might not get your wish. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Cruise has agreed to produce a fourth installment of the franchise with JJ Abrams, and they're looking at a potential 2011 release date.

The idea of having Cruise step away to make room for a younger star, and the meetings to discuss the idea, have been denied by those (allegedly) involved. But as THR rightly points out -- this news is sparse on the details, or rather the most important: Is Cruise going to star as Ethan Hunt once again? Or, are those rumors right-on about a new spin on the franchise?

With all the effort Cruise has been putting into his career over the last few years, I can't imagine that he'd agree to step down, or to act as some sort of Mr. Miyagi or Ra's Al Ghul. However, why doesn't this news include Cruise's casting announcement if he was going to star? One would imagine that the producing and starring agreements would go hand in hand. Could Cruise actually be willing to step down, and what, do you think, is the motive if he is?

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]

Though there hasn't been an official announcement regarding another sequel in the Mission Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise hinted to a possible scene in the fourth installment that would require the city of Tokyo to literally shut down ... everything. Oh that Tom Cruise and his nutty ideas.

Cruise made the comment alongside director J.J. Abrams while the two were off promoting Mission Impossible 3 in Japan. The actor went on to explain that, although citizens would hate life and traffic would hit an all-time high,  he promised an action sequence that would be remembered forever. In return, Tokyo would only have to shut down for one week -- a minor inconvenience for, what could potentially be, Tom Cruise running throughout the streets at super-human speed.

Though it sounds absurd, a similar situation arose during filming of MI:3 in Shanghai. At that time, the Chinese government closed off large sections of the city at night to allow for filming some of the pic's more elaborate scenes. Personally, after being named Forbes most powerful celebrity, I think Tom Cruise is trying to see exactly how powerful he really is. I'm still waiting for the day when the guy tries to buy a planet and name if after himself. Screw Mars or Jupiter -- Planet Cruise sounds so much more ... relaxed. Am I right? Or am I right?