Mission: Impossible IV is a Step Closer to Un-Impossible

After the credits of Mission: Impossible III finished rolling and the whole scientology thing withTom Cruise happened, did anyone think we’d be talking about a fourth film six years later?


Yet it’s not such a big surprise. Tom Cruise’s career (in the United States at least) has really sputtered since then. His Nazi epic Valkyrie was ripped to shreds by critics (although I didn’t think it was too bad… except for the atrocious accents!) and this year’s Knight & Day didn’t do so hot at the box office. It seems only his out-of-the-box performance in Tropic Thunder has brought the former Maverick any praise. Cruise currently seems to have ten projects in development (no joke… check his IMDB page), although Mission: Impossible IV, due out in December 2011, seems to be the next film in the pipeline.

Cruise has been spotted by WENN photographers in Prague (where parts of the original film were shot) this week scouting locations for his fourth turn as Ethan Hunt. Though this ultimately tells us nothing about the film’s potential story, it does show that yet another step is being taken toward the next installment in Cruise’s signature franchise. What intrigues me most about this project is that it’s the first live action film by director Brad Bird, a Pixar stalwart and director of Pixar greats like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. It’ll be really interesting to see how his eye translates from animation to live action.

What are your thoughts on a Fourth mission Impossible? Does Brad Bird directing it give you a little bit of hope?