Tom Cruise Is Allegedly Developing Mission: Impossible 9, And I Have So Many Questions

I’ll admit, as a day one Mission: Impossible fan, seeing the franchise supposedly end was bittersweet. With The Final Reckoning drawing Ethan Hunt’s story to a seemingly proper close, Tom Cruise appeared to be retiring from active duty in the IMF – taking The Entity with him into the shadows. Somehow, be it Hollywood’s request or an itch to light the fuse again, Mission: Impossible 9 might be on the table.

What’s more, some Academy Award winning talent could be picking up the baton for this next chapter. It’s a combination that leaves me with quite a few burning questions; should Paramount choose to accept this not-so impossible mission. So let’s take a deeper look at what could be going on here. 

Mission: Impossible 9 Is Supposedly In Development, With A New Writer/Director

Time to break out your salt shakers folks, as gossip site Deuxmoi is the source that has the supposed scoop. In a very short item run on its social media presence, the publication laid out this supposed new Mission as follows: 

Chloe Zhao is in talks to write/direct. Tom sought her out, they’ve workshopped a treatment, script is underway.

So despite disappearing from public life, in order to hide The Entity from the world at large, Ethan Hunt could return. At least, that’s the first assumption that one would make; before digging deeper into the fact that the Hamnet director (and Oscar winner for Nomadland) is supposedly involved. 

Before we move forward, let’s just keep in mind that nothing here is confirmed. As far as anyone knows, Paramount may not be thinking about Mission: Impossible 9 as intensely as they may seem. But if they are, this line of questioning will be fun to answer during the development process. 

Is Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt Actually Returning? 

Again, Ethan Hunt and The Entity kind of left the stage in a stalemate at the end of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. As far as I’m concerned, our IMF hero of almost three decades couldn’t destroy the vicious code until it had an antivirus to cancel it out. At the same time, the world can’t know Mr. Hunt is still alive, and possesses the complete code.

To breach that secrecy would be dooming the world to yet another digital arms race; like we saw in the intended two-part finale. With Tom Cruise only speculated as tapping Chloe Zhao for writing/directing duties, could this mean that we’ll be seeing a new IMF team, led by an intrepid spy as the new lead? 

Could We See Hayley Atwell’s Grace Leading Mission: Impossible 9? 

If we’re going to see a new Mission: Impossible movie, with a redefined IMF roster, then surely Hayley Atwell’s reformed thief Grace would be the natural lead – right? Her late addition to the saga through Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning would make a lot more sense, and I could totally see Mission: Impossible 9 shifting gears in a post-Ethah Hunt world.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to see Ms. Atwell’s Marvel Cinematic Universe action skills being pushed to the limit? Then again, as Chloe Zhao is the creative tapped for this hypothetical spy game, the Mission: Impossible movies could be moving back into a realm of grounded espionage drama. A post-Hamnet recruitment would support that theory; though it’s kind of hard to tell with one other major party seemingly absent.

Where Is Christopher McQuarrie In The Process? 

Back when Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (nee Part One) was ramping up for release, Tom Cruise told The Sydney Morning Herald that a post-Reckoning entry wasn’t out of the cards. Mission: Impossible 9 would live up to that promise in any form, no matter who the protagonist may be. Even if it was a reboot, it’d still count.

While Tom Cruise is a natural fit, it’s starting to sound like long-time series stalwart Christopher McQuarrie isn’t involved. The go-to man for the franchise since his uncredited rewrites on Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, McQ not being at the table is kind of odd. Unless, of course, he’s busy helping Tom Cruise prepare Top Gun 3 for takeoff. In which case, that’s kind of the ultimate doctor’s note.

Could We Get More Tramell Tillman And Katy O’Brien? 

For as little screen time as they banked in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the crew of the USS Ohio stole the show every second they appeared. In particular Severance’s Tramell Tillman and Love Lies Bleeding star Katy O’Brien made quite an impression, as I was left wanting an entire spin-off with those folks in focus. 

Whether Ethan Hunt is returning or not is inconsequential, as this submarine can be stationed pretty much anywhere in a time of crisis. It’d sure make for a hell of a connecting thread between Mission: Impossible 9’s brave new world and the classic run of world saving adventures if the Ohio resurfaced. 

Of course, this is all just speculation and pitching on my part. Officially, the status of the Mission: Impossible franchise is uncertain. Unofficially – this long spanning property was trained to be a ghost; and Tom Cruise helped train it. So we’ll just have to see if Mission: Impossible 9 is a rumor to be disavowed, or an actual going concern. For now, we can all cool our heels and watch the entire story of Ethan Hunt’s career in espionage, as all eight Missions are streaming, on Paramount+. 

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