Taking his career to literal new heights when making some of the best action movies, there are very few that can keep up with the energy Tom Cruise shows with each new adventure. As Mission: Impossible 7 is set to help push those chops even further while some ponder the future of the franchise, a comment Cruise made about Harrison Ford’s career as an action star seems to have set Mission: Impossible 9 firmly in the star's sights.
Speaking with The Sydney Morning Herald, the Top Gun: Maverick actor was chatting with the Mission: Impossible 7 cast at the Australian premiere, and of course, the franchise's future came up. Acting as one of those venues where sequel talk is always highest, especially with a decades-long saga carrying it forward, Tom Cruise made a comment in reference to Ford’s own efforts to keep kicking ass on the silver screen, saying:
Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going; I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.
To be fair, Tom Cruise has just turned 62, while Harrison Ford is 80. And the Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny star did happen to have a healthy amount of stunt performers helping him keep up that rugged image. Although, the producer/star of the Mission franchise has stated he'll do his own stunts as long as he can; so Cruise really is determined to go full steam ahead in all capacities on this saga.
Mission: Impossible 9’s potential has already been flying like a flag in the wind, thanks to co-writer/director Christopher McQuarrie’s previous statement about an idea already being in place for that picture. While one would naturally have assumed Cruise would likely be automatically along for the ride, this new mission statement of sorts seems to confirm that most likely will be the case.
Next week’s opening of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One will certainly play a part in whether or not the ninth installment even gets a green light. The current two-part story, which is set to wrap on the 2024 movie schedule with Dead Reckoning Part Two, was already delayed into a debut that was years past the originally planned mark. Those delays supposedly added a huge bump to this Mission’s budget, which makes profitability seem like the highest mountain to climb for this film.
Then again, Tom Cruise delivered a golden goose of a hit in 2022, thanks to Top Gun: Maverick, wowing the crowd over an extended period of time. Mission: Impossible 7 could have similar legs, simply because the world can’t get enough of the action star's ability to deliver insane thrills with an approach that favors the practical over the digital.
So long as he’s got the studio’s blessing, and the audience in his corner, you can be sure that Cruise will keep delivering the impossible for as long as he can. That's something that even Harrison Ford would probably tip his fedora to.
Tom Cruise and his Mission: Impossible antics have carried six films to box office glory, with Dead Reckoning Part One looking to continue that run on July 12. All IMF agents looking to refresh themselves on previous history can use their standard issue Paramount+ subscription at the time of publication; as all six Mission: Impossible movies are currently streaming on that platform.
