The Mission: Impossible franchise is probably the strongest it’s ever been since its inception in 1996. The earlier films may not be all that great but were fun in their own right but the recent installments were phenomenal action films. This is strongly due to the part of the ever charismatic and daring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. Cruise is one of the biggest actors in Hollywood having starred in dramatic, comedic and action roles. His role as Ethan Hunt saw him doing his own stunts, stunts that could probably get the man killed but he’s one hell of dude.
However, Cruise is getting old (he’s 56 mind you) and its a wonder if the star can continue to take on these feats and it’s a wonder if there would eventually re-cast him in the future when he’s pipe and slippers and rocking chair (to quote an Arctic Monkeys song). His co-star and legendary funny man, Simon Pegg is against that notion however.
Speaking with Cinemablend, Pegg was asked on the possibility of Hunt being played by another actor to which Pegg was very much not a fan of. He said:
“No, and I don’t think another actor ever could [play Ethan Hunt]. That’s what’s so great about these movies. It’s kind of unprecedented in that you’ve got a series of movies, and they’ve never been rebooted, we’ve never recycled, we’ve never recast. They are six movies over 22 years which are part of the same genetic code. And you can’t really say that for any other franchise. It’s something to be proud of, I think.”
Tom Cruise and Ethan Hunt are inseparable just like Hugh Jackman is with Wolverine and Harrison Ford is with Indiana Jones. The Mission: Impossible series is one of the best action film series in the industry and now that it’s doing so well with Mission: Impossible: Fallout earning high praise like no other action film in recent memory, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Paramount would like to take the franchise above and beyond… but it’s Cruise man!
There is a chance we may see a passing of the torch-esque situation in which a younger IMF agent may helm future films but it’s probably best to just leave it with Hunt. Yeah, you can milk a franchise dry and suck the life out of it or you can end with your heads high knowing that you’ve crafted one of the best action franchises of all time.
Source: Cinemablend
