In a recent interview with Empire, mega star Tom Cruise let slip that he was working with director Brad Bird (The Incredibles) on creating another impossible mission. Rumors were abound at who would take the reigns of the $1.4 billion franchise. Because of the success of Star Trek, J.J. Abrams could not commit to another sequel, having worked with Cruise on Mission: Impossible III. Two directors that were considered were Bird and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz).
J.J. Abrams, who is still involved as producer, and Cruise are apparently “cranking away,” as Cruise puts it, on outlining a story. Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, creators of the TV series Happy Town, will then take the Cruise and Abrams story and fashion it into a screenplay.
Mission: Impossible 4 was scheduled to hit theaters Memorial Day weekend 2011, but has since been pushed back to November 16, 2011. The move is to allow the release of Super 8, the first movie Abrams has directed since Star Trek.
Sound off: Brad Bird a better pick over Edgar Wright? I can only imagine what an Ethan Hunt movie would have looked like with the Hot Fuzz director calling the shots.
Edgar shouldn’t be disappointed about not getting the directing gig, though. He’s still on Cruise’s must-work-with list.
