When a Mission: Impossible film goes into production, the casting news is as exciting as the news about the actual plot itself. Ever since the franchise launched with its first film in 1996, the movies have continued the tradition of filling its cast from top to bottom with a stellar selection of newcomers, legends, and hot names of the day. With Tom Cruise as the anchor for each film's cast, there have been some really awesome villains that have brought up the other end of the conflict equation. If the latest news we've received is true, that tradition will be carried out by another worthy adversary.
Deadline has an interesting scoop on just who might be going up against Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the latest Mission: Impossible film, and it's none other than Prometheus co-star Sean Harris. You might remember him as the ill-fated crew member that took a blast of acidic blood to the helmet, only to come back later as a super strong monstrosity. So naturally, he's a good pick to follow in the footsteps of such actors as Jon Voight, Dougray Scott, and the late Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, who have previously stepped into the role of the antagonist to Tom Cruise's protagonist.
Now this is far from a done deal as the offer has gone out to Harris, but he still has to review and agree to whatever terms Paramount is setting in order to become a part of the film. Should he choose to accept this mission, he'll be joining fellow franchise newbies Rebecca Ferguson and Alec Baldwin; as well as returning cast members Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames. While Sean Harris isn't exactly a household name just yet, taking a role in the latest Mission: Impossible film is a good choice if he wants to do just that. After all, Ving Rhames used the role of Luther Stickel (which only came two years after his equally iconic role as Marcellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction) as a good launching pad to character actor fame.
It should be noted that Deadline states the "rest of the crew" is coming back, which would imply that Paula Patton would also be along for the ride. If this is the case, this is the first time we've had one IMF team composed of the same members for two films in a row! Should this happen, this would align the films a little closer to the format of the original TV series, which only swapped select members here and there, but for the most part kept the same line up. Sorry Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, you were a little early to the Mission: Impossible party.
Mission: Impossible 5 is currently in production, and is planned for a Christmas Day release next year. So if you're game, you could always have a double feature between this film and Star Wars: Episode VII. This page will self destruct in five seconds. Good luck, readers.
