Last year, there was a rumour floating around that Tom Cruise was just about done with the Mission: Impossible franchise. The thought was that with everything that went into making the next two films in the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two, his character Ethan Hunt would slowly ride off into the sunset. But in recent weeks, the writer and director of the films, Christopher McQuarrie, pushed back at that and now Cruise has taken things a step further, saying he never wants to stop.
In a new interview in the Sydney Morning Herald found by Variety, Cruise was asked if he’d still like to be doing Mission movies when he’s 80, like fellow ageing action star Harrison Ford is with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. “Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him,” Cruise said. “I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”
So could Ethan Hunt still be around in 20 years, doing impossible missions with his friends? It’s the movies, anything is possible. But, at some point, there’s going to have to be a passing of the torch. That’s because Cruise, who looks nowhere near his actual age of 61, simply can’t keep up with what he’s doing forever. Seeing an 80-year-old Ethan Hunt sounds, hypothetically, ok if he’s a guy-in-the-chair, off-the-field leader. It sounds less ok if 80-year-old Tom Cruise is still jumping motorcycles off cliffs.
But for now, that’s exactly what he’s doing and you can check it out when Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One opens in theatres July 13. The sequel, Dead Reckoning Part Two, is scheduled for June 28, 2024.