Tom Cruise to say goodbye to iconic role after Mission: Impossible 7 & 8
gamesradar.comMission: Impossible 7 and 8 will reportedly be the last time fans see Tom Cruise play secret agent Ethan Hunt.
Cruise first portrayed Ethan in 1996’s Mission: Impossible, the movie version of the 1966 television series of the same name created by the late Bruce Geller. Paramount Pictures owned the rights to the series and hired Brian De Palma to direct the first installment, which centers on an Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent who seeks to hunt the traitor who framed him for murder. Frequent Tom Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie directed Mission: Impossible 5 and Mission: Impossible 6 and has returned as director for 7 and 8.
Paramount reportedly plans to retire the character of Ethan Hunt and introduce new characters that could potentially become lead roles in later installments in the franchise. The 7th film introduces Hayley Atwell, Cary Elwes, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Charles Parnell, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, and comedian Rob Delaney to the Mission: Impossible universe. Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, and Vanessa Kirby will reprise their prior roles in both installments.
The new sequels were filmed back-to-back and were initially planned for a 2021 and 2022 release date, but production was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the shut-down of several international shooting locations.
Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 are now set to premiere in 2023 and 2024, respectively. For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to what’s being released in 2022.
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