During the 100th episode of the Light the Fuse podcast with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, stars Simon Pegg and Hayley Atwell, along with composer Lorne Balfe, a few new details about the upcoming Mission: Impossible sequels, including officially confirming that Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, and Vanessa Kirby will all be returning for Mission Impossible 7 & 8.
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McQuarrie further announced that Balfe, composer for Mission: Impossible – Fallout, will return for the seventh and eighth installments as well, which Balfe was clearly excited about. The filmmaker, alongside Pegg, also teased that Benji and other characters would have an arc like Ethan’s in Fallout. Additionally, fans can expect to see Atwell’s character test all of the members of the IMF in the films, with McQuarrie stopping short of calling the character a villain but describing her as a “force of nature.”
Joining Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell are returning Mission: Impossible alums Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Simon Pegg (Ready Player One), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction), Vanessa Kirby (Hobbs & Shaw) and Henry Czerny (Ready or Not) along with newcomers Shea Whigham (Joker), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Avengers: Infinity War) and Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road)
Following the large critical and commercial success of the past two installments, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie signed a new deal with Paramount to return to write and direct the next two installments, turning down other studio offers to continue his long-running partnership with franchise star Tom Cruise. Skydance Media, who joined the franchise with the fourth installment, Ghost Protocol, will be returning to produce the next two entries.
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The Mission: Impossible franchise spans almost 25 years and six films, starting off with modest critical and major box office success in the first two films before launching its lead protagonist into grittier and more explosive stories, each film getting progressively better reviews than its predecessor, with the most recent installment, Fallout, earning the highest reviews for both the franchise and the action genre, currently maintaining a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes while also acquiring the highest box office gross of the franchise at over $790 million worldwide.
Mission: Impossible 7 is set to premiere on November 19, 2021, followed by Mission: Impossible 8 November 4, 2022.
