Since 2011’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,’ the franchise has evolved into a premiere action franchise. 2015’s ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ introduced director Christopher McQuarrie to the franchise. He did the follow up, ‘Mission: Impossible – Fallout,’ as well becoming the first director to do more than one entry in the franchise. To build on that record, he signed on to write and direct the next two chapters of the Tom Cruise-led franchise.
McQuarrie has been announcing cast members via Twitter, with the latest being Shea Whigham:
https://twitter.com/chrismcquarrie/status/1208153928929443841
Whigham is a wonderful character actor, who has appeared in movies like ‘Joker’ and ‘Fast & Furious,’ and shows like ‘Marvel’s Agent Carter.’ In all of those, he played authoritative agent and law enforcement type characters. It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see him play a CIA bureaucrat or something in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ sequels. However, if McQuarrie’s caption is a clue, then maybe he will be slightly less straightforward than some of his previous characters.
Along with returning leads Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson, Whigham will join previously announced newcomers, which include fellow ‘Agent Carter’ star Hayley Atwell, and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.’ actor Pom Klementieff. While there hasn’t been any confirmation, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames seem like shoe-ins to return as well.
The last three movies have upped the ante in terms of action set pieces, and stunts. For McQuarrie to tackle two more sequels – both filming back to back, means that the trend is likely to continue. Tom Cruise has played Ethan Hunt since 1996, which means that when he reprises the role for 7 and 8, he will have been playing the character throughout FOUR different decades.
Shea Whigham is a good fit for the franchise, who could play either friend or foe to our IMF team. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the cast fills out for these two flicks.
‘Mission: Impossible 7’ will hit theaters July 23, 2021.
‘Mission: Impossible 8’ will hit theaters August 5, 2022.
Source: Christopher McQuarrie