The Mission: Impossible film series is one of those few franchises that’s improved with age, and around this time last year, it was announced that two new Mission: Impossible movies had not only gotten the green light, but will shoot back-to-back. Since last fall, Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8 casting news has trickled in, and today writer and director Christopher McQuarrie announced that X-Men “First Class”-era star Nicholas Hoult has joined the spy ranks with the following post:
Having already played Beast in four X-Men movies (five if you count that Deadpool 2 cameo) and his other notable credits include Mad Max: Fury Road, Rebel in the Rye and Tolkien, Nicholas Hoult has now accepted the mission of appearing opposite Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8. Hoult responded to Christopher McQuarrie’s inquiry about raising a little hell by saying on Instagram:
Love to. Though why stop at a little?
When it comes to the Mission: Impossible movies, raising hell can either be done in the service of saving the world or for purely malevolent reasons. That said, Variety’s sources say that Nicholas Hoult will be playing a villain. So whatever kind of hell his character is raising, it’ll be up to Ethan Hunt and his allies to cool things down.
The outlet also noted that despite Hoult losing out on playing Goose’s son in Top Gun: Maverick (Miles Teller scored that role), he had a “solid meeting” with Cruise during the audition, and that paved the way for them wanting to work together on something else. As a result, Hoult gets to take part in another action-packed franchise alongside the man who’s been active as Ehtan Hunt for over two decades.
Nicholas Hoult is the fourth new actor to be announced for the next two Mission: Impossible movies. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Hayley Atwell was revealed back in September, followed by fellow MCU star Pom Klementieff in November and Joker’s Shea Whigham (who worked with Atwell on Agent Carter Season 1) last month. It’s also been confirmed that Rebecca Ferguson will reprise Ilsa Faust, but there’s no word yet on if any other familiar faces will be around.
No story details have been revealed for either of the upcoming Mission: Impossible movies yet, but Christopher McQuarrie shared some “first sketches” for the sequels in October, so we know he’s hard at work bringing them to life. McQuarrie, who did uncredited rewrites on Ghost Protocol and then helmed Rogue Nation and Fallout, also admitted last spring that he’s “freaked out” about doing two more movies, but if anyone’s suited for that job, it’s him.
Mission: Impossible 7 hits theaters on July 23, 2021, and Mission: Impossible 8 will follow on August 5, 2022. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on their development, and don’t forget to plan your silver screen visits this year with our 2020 release schedule. Nicholas Hoult can next be seen in Those Who Wish Me Dead, which comes out on October 23.
