J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise To Return for “Mission: Impossible IV”
It’s generally agreed that the J.J. Abrams-directed “Mission: Impossible III,” despite having the poorest box office showing of any film in the franchise, was easily the best. Abrams was able to conjure the first installment of the series that actually made sense, bringing a great deal of the “Alias” aesthetic to the 2006 film, and the writing team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (“Star Trek”) was well suited to the project.
Now, in the wake of his “Star Trek” success, Paramount has signed Abrams to at least produce “MI:4″ for 2011 or 2012. If he were to return to the director’s chair, this would be the first time Tom Cruise and Paramount would agree to having anyone direct more than one in the series — an early stated idea was to have wildly different interpretations and styles applied to each film.
Given my “Lost” allegiance and my unabashed love for the new “Star Trek” film, I’d love to see Abrams return to direct “M:I4″ — in fact, if he could just oversee the summer movie seasons for the next five years or so, we would all feel happier about our trips to the cineplex. One caveat: any interest on Abrams’ part in directing “M:I4″ should not get in the way of him directing the 2011 “Star Trek” sequel.
While he’s set to produce the “Star Trek” film, Abrams has yet to sign on to direct that one, either. If he has to choose, he should go with “Star Trek” — this is a newly fresh franchise, and Abrams clearly knew what he was doing on the relaunch.
One possibility: with “Lost” put to bed by early next year, he could move up one of his more trusted “Lost” directors to take on “M:I4,” like Jack Bender. But Paramount will likely balk at an unproven feature director taking on the franchise.
Thoughts?
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