When filmmakerChristopher McQuarriewrote and directedMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, he famously quipped that he felt bad for the director ofMission: Impossible 6, because he had no idea how they’d topTom Cruisehanging off an airplane as it takes off. It’s ironic, then, that not only was McQuarrie the one who ended up directingMission 6, but he arguably topped that sequence withtwomajor set pieces inMission: Impossible – Fallout: Tom Cruise jumping out of an airplane, and Tom Cruise piloting a helicopter.
Falloutscored the biggest opening weekend for aMissionfilm to date and garnered massively positive reviews, so while the prospect of following the airplane set piece fromRogue Nationwas daunting, pretty much everything aboutFalloutmakesMission: Impossible 7a terrifying prospect from a director’s standpoint.
And yet, there’s something about McQuarrie’s twoMissionfilms that feels incomplete. He introduced Isla Foust (Rebecca Ferguson) and Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) inRogue Nation, and those characters played vital roles inFalloutwhich happened to beMission’s most direct sequel to date. And yet, it feels like the story that was started there still hasn’t necessarily come to a conclusion at the end of the film. So the question then is, would McQuarrie come back and directMission: Impossible 7?
As it turns out, that prospect has already been put to McQuarrie by both Cruise and Paramount Pictures, as the filmmaker revealed on the epicfirst part of Empire’s Spoiler Podcast interview:
“[Fallouteditor]Eddie Hamilton, every day in the editing room was like, ‘Come on, man, it’s obviously a trilogy you’re coming back, you have to finish it, you didn’t kill Lane,’ and I was like, ‘It’s somebody else’s problem.’ Tom has asked, the studio has asked, and I was like, ‘You know maybe I’ve got an idea for…’ and then the reviews came out and I was like, ‘Get outta here. Just stop.’ I felt so bad for the director ofMission 6and I feel even worse of the director of 7. I’d rather have leprosy than be in the position of the person having to confront the pressure of the hyperbole of this movie on their first day of shooting the film. It’s too much to confront. I’d need a long nap before I could contemplate it.”
The filmmaker also points out that since he rewrote the third act ofRogue Nationon the fly and reworked the middle portion ofFalloutduring a production break owing to Cruise’s broken ankle—and started filming both movies without a complete script—he’s set a precedent for himself on theMissionfilms that’s not exactly fun:
“The worst part is they’re like you don’t need a script, you don’t need to prep—you’ve done it twice!”
McQuarrie already broke with history by being the first director to repeat on theMissionfranchise, and he’s Cruise’s go-to writer to punch up whatever film he’s working on (be itEdge of TomorroworThe Mummy). It stands to reason that McQuarrie will probably be involved inMission: Impossible 7in some form, but it’s unclear if he would be willing to jump back into the fire yet again as the sole writer/director.
Paramount no doubt wants this sequel to happen due to the terrific box office and critical success ofFallout, and per McQuarrie they’ve already asked him about coming back, but I can also understand from McQuarrie’s perspective how those expectations would be incredibly scary.
As a huge fan of McQuarrie’s work I do hope he comes back, and if you’re at all interested inMission: Impossible – Falloutor just filmmaking in general, I cannot recommend this full spoiler podcast enough. McQuarrie is full of fascinating, candid insight. Listen to it below.
