It's official. Simon Pegg has confirmed he will return for "Mission Impossible 5."
During an interview with MTV, the British comedian confirmed that he would do the next film. He said, "Yes absolutely. I've already started eating one carrot a day in order to be in shape. Actually that's not good enough to that." Pegg would be reprising the role of Benji Dunn, an IMF technical field agent and part of Hunt's team.
The actor is the first to confirm participation after Tom Cruise who has been signed on for the role for months. However, fellow "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" cast members Jeremy Renner ("The Town"), and Paula Patton ("Precious") have yet to confirm if they will reprise their roles
"Iron Man 3″ writer Drew Pearce penned the script for the upcoming film and Christopher McQuarrie ("Jack Reacher," "The Way of the Gun") is set to direct.
The movie is slated to be released on Christmas Day, the same day as Ben Affleck's latest directorial effort "Live by Night."
"Mission Impossible 5" is one of the many franchise films slated for 2015. Some of these other films include "Avengers: Age of Ultron," "Batman vs. Superman," "Star Wars: Episode VII," "Ant-Man," "Assassin's Creed," "Jurassic World," "James Bond 24" and "Terminator 5."
Pegg was last seen in "The World's End" and "Star Trek Into Dakrness." He has also been seen in "Paul," "Star Trek," "Run Fat Boy Run," "Hot Fuzz" and "Shaun of the Dead."
The last installment in the franchise, "Ghost Protocol," made $209 million domestically and $694 million worldwide. The movie also scored rave reviews, with a 93 percent aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a critical consensus that the film was "Stylish, fast-paced, and loaded with gripping set pieces, the fourth Mission: Impossible is big-budget popcorn entertainment that really works," according to Rotten Tomatoes.