With news that Mission:Impossible 6 (M:I-6?) is now forging ahead with location scouting in Paris and casting of Vanessa ‘The Crown’ Kirby in a supporting role; it seemed an opportune moment for resident cinematic archivist, Jack Walter Christian to look back at the franchise’s legacy, whilst speculating on its future.
Jack..your mission, should you choose to accept it..is to write this piece..before MovieViral self-destructs at the hands of evil trolls. INITIATE MISSION!
It’s no strange thing that I love the Mission: Impossible franchise and am waiting for the next installment in the film series. So, what do we know so far? Tom Cruise, naturally, is returning as Ethan Hunt, and is expected to co-produce it, as well.
Last year, we learned that Rebecca Fergusson is set to reprise her role as Ilsa Faust, making her the fourth person to reprise a character from a previous installment. But, will the others be up for it? Will Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg reprise their roles as William Brandt, Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn respectfully? I surely hope so!
According to a few articles from sources I’m keeping an eye on, filming is scheduled to commence sometime during this Spring, with a release date set for 27 July 2018, around full circle three years after ‘Rogue Nation’ came out.
Now, while I loved Rogue Nation, it was more of an Ethan Hunt film than a Mission: Impossible film, which is what made the first three films weak for me. What I’d love to see is the return of the tone from Ghost Protocol, where it’s about teamwork rather than the efforts of one protagonist. I’m hoping the approach to have Ilsa Faust return to the field is aiming to form a series regular cast and have the others return as well, much like the original television series.
And some wishful thinking? I wish, somehow, they undo the antagonizing of Jim Phelps that let the first film down in the eyes of the audience who were fans of the original show. Even if it requires creating a CGI Peter Graves to pose for the Jim Phelps character and how he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit.
I also hope they won’t be going rogue again and the IMF becomes effective in its own right rather than constantly relying on the CIA and the government. Will The Syndicate also return? I personally doubt it as it turned out to be a rejected MI-6 operation turned criminally driven committee as opposed to the collective of organized crime syndicates they were aptly given the name of in the television series.
In other words, The Syndicate is neutralized in the film as their prime leader is captured. But, I surely hope they don’t do a scenario where he escapes and decides to take revenge from Hunt by killing the ones he loves etc which makes the hero go rogue again, I surely hope not! A straightforward M:I adventure would do nicely, in my opinion.
Further wishful thinking? I’m hopeful Brad Bird will return to direct, and perhaps even write. However, Christopher McQuarrie is signed on to direct the sixth film so that rules Bird out from this one. But, perhaps, there could be hope for him to return in the future.
About The Author:
Jack Walter Christian is primarily a hobbyist, specializing in an average amount of knowledge in the American Cinema History as well as some of the British and the Europeans in minor. Graduated from UCLA, holding a bachelor’s degree in International relations in general, Christian took his interests elsewhere where his hobbies had a large role in display, expressing fondness in cinema as well as bearing fascination in the world of espionage, particularly in the form of fiction.
Ever since he was four years old, Christian embraced the exploits and adventure-driven saga’s of Ian Fleming’s cinematic interpretation of the super-spy, that being the indomitable James Bond, and labeled himself as a fan. Now, with almost twenty years in his pocket, a growing expert in spy thrillers all thanks to Agent 007 and its creator, Christian tends to explore the cornerstones of every spy fiction written in every format in a variation of franchises he knows better than the back of his hand.
An ambitious amateur writer who’s looking forward into leaving his mark in the film industry, one day, as well as in the field of prose novels and graphic. He also has the ability to draw and illustrate, although not professionally (as of yet), and on the side note, knowing how to speak six languages fluently, with three of them having learned from his ancestors. Christian is also an avid fanatic of Jazz Music which influenced his writing more or less, providing the concept and structure of his significant heroes at their prime.
