Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to direct "Mission: Impossible 5."
The film will be written by Drew Pearce and will be produced by Tom Cruise's Tom Cruise Productions, Paramount Pictures, and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. Cruise will reprise his role of Ethan Hunt for the fifth time.
"I am thrilled to reunite with Chris for the latest installment in the Mission series," said Cruise according to the press release. "I began producing the films with the goal that a different director with his own vision would make each one. Chris is an extraordinary filmmaker who will deliver the heart-pounding action and thrills that audiences around the world have come to expect from the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise."
Cruise and McQuarrie previously worked together on the 2012 film "Jack Reacher." The movie earned a 62 percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes with the critical consensus: "Jack Reacher is an above-average crime thriller with a smoothly charismatic performance from Tom Cruise," according to Rotten Tomatoes. The film went on to gross $80 million despite a $60 million budget.
The "Mission: Impossible" franchise has been profitable through its four film installments. In 1996 the first movie accrued $180 million domestically and $457 million worldwide, and received a 61 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The follow-up, "Mission: Impossible 2," came out in 2000 and grossed a franchise-high $215 million domestically and $546 million worldwide. The third installment grossed a franchise-low $134 million, despite receiving the best reviews of the first three movies when it opened in 2006; the film's $397 million worldwide also put the franchise on the brink of extinction. Fortunately, the latest installment, "Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol" not only grossed the best box office worldwide, but was also lauded by the critics with a 93 percent approval on Rotten Tomatoes.