Spoiler TV has happened upon a litte blurb in the latest issue of “TV Guide” with a quote from J.J. Abrams saying he is onboard to produce Mission Impossible 4 with Tom Cruise set to star as Ethan Hunt yet again.
The site scanned the mention in the TV listings mag, which reads:
The man behind “Lost,” “Fringe” and the latest Star Trek smash is reteaming with Tom Cruise to resurrect superspy Ethan Hunt for a fourth installment of the popular franchise. “I am incredibly honored that Tom has invited me back as a producer on Mission Impossible 4,” says J.J. Abrams, who directed 2006’s MI: 3, but hasn’t yet committed to directing the fourth. “Tom and I have come up with a really cool idea we are pursuing.” Send Ethan to the “Lost” island to find out what the hell’s going on. That mission is really impossible!
Despite a majority of positive reviews, Abrams’ Mission: Impossible 3 only went on to make $134 million domestically on a production budget of $150 million. The worldwide haul was just shy of $400 million, which makes the film feel like much more of a success. Of course, the film came out around the time Cruise had quite the negative public image due to his views on Scientology among other things.
Valkyrie didn’t do too bad with $83 million domestically and over $200 million worldwide and his performance in Tropic Thunder was certainly welcomed by many. Only time will tell if audiences have cooled on the Cruise bashing to the point they can sit back and watch him in another popcorn thriller.
I, for one, loved Mission: Impossible 3 and remain a fan of Cruise and hope this one works out.
