The upcoming Mission: Impossible 5 will be bringing back multiple actors from the cast of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - including Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames - but fans have taken notice that there is one key name misting from that core ensemble: Paula Patton. Despite the fact that the last movie hinted at her return for the follow-up, it turns out she won't be in the sequel. Why? It turns out that scheduling is to blame.
This weekend, Mission: Impossible 5 director Christopher McQuarrie took to his Twitter account for a quick Q&A session with fans, and it was during this time that he addressed the reason Paula Patton is not returning to her part as Jane Carter. As it turns out, the production actually approached both Patton as well as Mission: Impossible III actress Maggie Q about being in the movie, but they simply couldn't work it in. Or as McQuarrie put it:
In Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Mission: Impossible III, it's worth noting that both Paula Patton and Maggie Q played somewhat similar roles as Impossible Mission Force agents teamed up with Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt. While there is still very little known about the plot of Mission: Impossible 5 or how its various characters fit into its story, it appears that the female lead in the new sequel will be played by Rebecca Ferguson.
Considering all of the male team members will be returning from Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, it is honestly disappointing that Paula Patton couldn't fit the sequel into her schedule, but it is at least nice that they wanted to have her return. Those who have been following the Mission: Impossible franchise from its beginnings back in 1996 know that it originally wasn't huge on creating a larger continuity, with Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames being the only real consistent presences in the first three movies. That's obviously changed quite a lot since, but it's a shame that Mission: Impossible 5 couldn't wrangle the complete package of Tom Cruise/Ving Rhames/Jeremy Renner/Simon Pegg/Paula Patton.
In addition to talking about Paula Patton and Maggie Q, Christopher McQuarrie also confirmed that we will be getting a trailer and title for the name soon - which makes sense given that we haven't seen anything from the film and it will be out in just a few months. If I personally had to place a bet, it would be that we will get our first official look at the movie along with what promises to be the first big action blockbuster of the year: April 3rd's Furious 7.
Mission: Impossible 5, which stars Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin and Sean Harris, will be in theaters on July 31, 2015.
