When the eighth Mission: Impossible movie hits theaters next May, it will end a five-year journey Tom Cruise alongside the cast and filmmakers of the franchise's closely-tied seventh and eighth installments continuing Ethan Hunt’s action-packed espionage journey. What’s next for Cruise after that? Reportedly, he’ll be in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s next movie!
Alejandro González Iñárritu is the award-winning filmmaker behind 2015’s The Revenant, which finally gave Leonardo DiCaprio his Oscar. His other English-language work includes 2016’s Birdman and 2006’s Babel. According to Deadline, the director is currently in negotiations with Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures to get his upcoming movie off the ground, and Tom Cruise will be the star.
The movie’s title or synopsis was not revealed, but it reportedly comes from an original idea by Iñárritu which he co-wrote a script for alongside Sabina Berman, Alexander Dinelaris and Nicolas Giacobone (the latter two being his writing collaborators on Birdman). It’s also being reported that Cruise will produce the movie following his meeting with Iñárritu, who apparently met with a “select few actors” for the mysterious leading role.
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Alejandro González Iñárritu isn’t exactly an action director, as the filmmaker has tackled some rather intense topics in his past films. This includes The Revenant having Leo DiCaprio coming face-to-face with harsh environmental circumstances of wintertime in 1820s America (like being attacked by a bear), and the ambitious production of Birdman sought to make the audience feel like they are watching a movie without a single unbroken shot.
What’s particularly exciting about Tom Cruise’s next role is that it could potentially sway him into the world of arthouse dramas and even in the Oscars conversation, should the movie hit the way Iñárritu’s other films have with the Academy. Iñárritu is one of a handful of directors who made a great movie on his first try, with 2000’s Amores Perros, and has frequently been recognized for his movies (English-language or otherwise) since.
Tom Cruise has been on an action movie kick for sometime, but there was a time when he was often part of the year’s most critically-acclaimed list. He was previously nominated in the Best Actor race three times, for 1990’s Born on the Fourth of July, 1997’s Jerry Maguire and 2000’s Magnolia, but he has never taken home an Oscar. Cruise also earned a Best Picture Oscar nomination for Top Gun: Maverick a couple years ago, but didn’t win that award either.
While we wait to hear more information about Tom Cruise’s next movie, it’s worth noting that Mission: Impossible 8’s Hannah Waddingham recently teased working with the actor on the action flick by calling him a “daredevil” in his upcoming movie's scenes. On the flip side, The Hunger Games’ prequel actress Rachel Zegler beat out the actor for Action Star of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards. Mission: Impossible 8 hits theaters on May 23, 2025.
