Christopher McQuarrie, the director behind many of Tom Cruise’s legendary Mission: Impossible movies, is talking about what’s next for the blockbuster series. With the newest film breaking records at the box office, fans are eager to know if there will be more adventures—maybe even spin-offs or prequels. But McQuarrie isn’t so sure that’s the best idea.
After directing four Mission: Impossible films, McQuarrie is ready for a break from planning some of the most daring stunts in Hollywood—and from keeping Tom Cruise safe. “Tom and I also have a very simple rule: Only one of us can be crazy at a time,” the director told The New York Times, explaining how he and Cruise work together. Right now, McQuarrie is still focused on promoting The Final Reckoning, which is the eighth and reportedly final movie in the franchise.
When asked if Mission: Impossible could get a spin-off, like Ballerina in the John Wick world, McQuarrie gave a straight answer. He said the movies work because of the team, and splitting them up would change everything:
“Well, I mean, what is Mission? It’s a very specific thing with a very specific kind of filmmaking, involving an actor who performs all that action himself. If you were to spin characters off, it’d be another kind of story altogether. I’d be curious to see how that worked.
One of the things I love about them is that they are a team. They’re all great characters, but if you spin them off, you would lose two things entirely: One, you’d lose what Ethan Hunt brings to the franchise in terms of its scale and its action, and you’d also lose the team. It would cease to be the Mission we know. That’s not to say somebody couldn’t invent a new Mission: Impossible. Having worked on a few of them, I can say, ‘Good luck.'”
At this point, it’s hard to imagine Mission: Impossible without Tom Cruise. He has been the face of the franchise for nearly 30 years, facing every kind of villain and industry challenge. Cruise is still at the top of his game, but even he can’t keep making these movies forever.
Even though the franchise is a big moneymaker, it might be time to say goodbye. The Final Reckoning could truly be the last Mission: Impossible movie. McQuarrie explained that he and Cruise only realized this was the end while making Dead Reckoning:
“We didn’t really think of it as being the conclusion of anything until we were about halfway through Dead Reckoning. Over time, we started to feel that this is a movie about the franchise, more than just about the mission.”
If this is truly the end, fans will always remember the action, the teamwork, and the legend of Ethan Hunt, as portrayed by one of Hollywood’s last movie stars – Tom Cruise.
***
English (US) · 