Slowly but surely, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie is filling out his cast for the next two ‘Mission: Impossible’ sequels. The cast of course is anchored by Tom Cruise, who has been playing Ethan Hunt for four decades! Other cast members include Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Shea Whigham. The latest to join the mission: Nicholas Hoult.
The ‘X-Men’ and ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ actor was confirmed via McQuarrie’s Instagram account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B7G5_Y5gaLD/?hl=en
The wording of McQuarrie’s post could suggest that Hoult will play a villain, but that is unconfirmed. Though, Variety and Borys Kit from The Hollywood Reporter think so too.
Sources tell me he will play a villain… https://t.co/SFU9Byf6lV
— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) January 9, 2020
Nicholas Hoult working with Tom Cruise seemed inevitable. He was on the shortlist for the role of Goose’s son in ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ He lost out on that to Miles Teller, but it seems that Cruise still wanted to work with him.
While the pieces are coming together in terms of talent, it is hard to tell how they fall into place in the world of Ethan Hunt. Who are his allies, and who are his enemies? More questions remain, like how much ‘M:I’ 7 & 8 will relate to each other. They are being shot back to back, but could be somewhat separate stories still. Of course, it seems more likely that 7 will end on a cliffhanger that will then be resolved by 8, especially if this cast spans both films.
McQuarrie and Cruise are taking on a monumental task. They both have steadily upped the bar of action, stunts, and stakes in the last two entries. The next two are going to have to do the same thing. A cast this talented should be up to the task.
While there hasn’t been any confirmation, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames seem like shoe-ins to return as well.
The ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise reinvented itself with 2011’s ‘Ghost Protocol,’ and has redefined the action movie genre, along with the ‘John Wick’ franchise. Those are the gold standard of action flicks at the moment, so McQuarrie’s biggest competition will be from himself.
‘Mission: Impossible 7’ will hit theaters July 23, 2021.
‘Mission: Impossible 8’ will hit theaters August 5, 2022.
Source: Christopher McQuarrie