Tom Cruise just got a big co-star for the upcoming Mission Impossible 4. The winner? Actor Jeremy Renner; best known for his Best Actor nomination last year for big winner Hurt Locker. A few days ago, rumors ran that the studio was a little scared about Tom Cruise’s latest numbers, so they were going to make the film about how he was mentoring a younger actor, who would take charge for future installments. This news dismisses that, to a big degree.
Update: Paramount has now confirmed this news to be official.
Deadline has, presumably, the final the word on Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible4 co-star. His new co-star in the Mission:Impossible franchise won’t be Kevin Zegers, Christopher Egan, and Anthony Mackie, actors mentioned earlier this week in connection with the third sequel in the M:I franchise. Executives at Paramount Pictures have decided against a younger, lesser-known co-star who, if box office returns and Cruise’s potential unavailability, warranted, could pick up the mantle for future entries in the M:I franchise. That actor? None other than Jeremy Renner.
This is great news for MI fans. Renner is a great actor, who finally has received the attention he deserves. Getting him to play alongside Cruise is a great move. What’s left is to get a great actor to play the villain, a la MI3. Now, I’m really getting interested in this new sequel; I loved MI3. I’m so glad they are not going with the “I’m mentoring the young…” storyline.
What do you guys think? Renner and Cruise together on screen; you like? What plot do you want them to tackle for this one? Who should be the villain/villains?
