‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Enlists ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Breakout Actress Katy O’Brian For Next Installment

The adrenaline-fueled “Mission: Impossible 8” is currently filming, and Paramount‘s spy actioner has added a new actor to the cast. Katy O’Brian, the breakout actress from A24’s lesbian thriller “Love Lies Bleeding,” has nabbed a part in the Tom Cruise-led franchise from writer/director Christopher McQuarrie. This casting update comes to us from Deadline as the up-and-comer has been amassing various genre/franchise parts, including playing a minor villain in “The Mandalorian” series, Marvel’s “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania,” and Amblin’s “Twister” reboot, “Twisters.”

McQuarrie is known for selecting badass actors for his recent string of sequels focusing on Ethan Hunt’s IMF teams as the latest installment focused on a new artificial intelligence threat called The Entity. There is an expectation that the eighth untitled installment (formerly known as “Dead Reckoning – Part Two”) will see Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff reprising their roles.

O’Brian joins fellow new additions such as Holt McCallany (“Wrath of Man”), Nick Offerman (“Civil War”), Janet McTeer (“Ozark”), and Hannah Waddingham (“The Fall Guy”).

Paramount has given “Mission: Impossible” a prime release date of May 23, 2025, after multiple rounds of delays stemming from scheduling shifts, and the first film being shot during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and extending the production length. While the studio and creatives really haven’t talked about the future of the franchise, there is a shot that this could be the final outing for Ethan Hunt as Cruise is looking to expand his relationship with Warner Bros. (a long-gestating sequel to Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow” assumed to be part of those plans) and is expected to shoot “Top Gun 3” in the near future.

SOURCE: DEADLINE

Rebecca Ferguson Explains Her Exit From ‘Mission: Impossible’ Franchise & Downplays Miraculous Return For Ilsa Faust

The “Mission: Impossible” franchise is in a very odd place at the moment after “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” didn’t do as well as expected compared to “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” and took a bit of a nosedive in regards to the film’s global box office earnings. It made about $222.3 million less than the last movie leading Paramount to ditch the “Dead Reckoning Part 2” title for the 8th installment they have nixed that entirely for a new/unknown title to be revealed at a later date. Production is still underway on “Mission: Impossible 8” and one franchise alum has indicated they won’t be magically coming back anytime soon.

Rebecca Ferguson, who has played the rogue British spy Ilsa Faust for three installments for writer/director Christopher McQuarrie starting with “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” is now doing the promotional tour for “Dune: Part Two” and might have explained the reasoning behind Faust’s death in “Dead Reckoning.” The actress dished to Entertainment Tonight (See video below) that her three-picture deal with the studio had expired and decided it was her time to leave to focus on other projects.

“Do you remember when we talked about those three-picture deals in Hollywood? So, sometimes they end and actors have the possibility to saying ‘yes or no.’ We were at that point and ‘Mission’ is such a huge dedication. I’ve done it and it’s fantastic. [McQurrie] and Tom wrote this fantastic character but there is only so much you can do with a character, I find. You know, I’m entitled to my own opinion in this. I want her to go rogue I’m interested in the dark side I don’t want a ‘team member’ it’s not interesting for me and I felt that was where we were heading. It takes a lot of time to make ‘Mission’ it is blood, sweat, and tears doing those films. And by now I’ve done a TV show and two movies, they’re still on [‘Mission: Impossible 8’].”

When asked if she is totally out, “That’s it, you never know.”

Faust had been a character many fans and journalists had assumed could have taken over the franchise, had star/producer Tom Cruise decided to end his tenure of Ethan Hunt given that the aging action star has been mulling over plans elsewhere including a new development deal at Warner Bros. that could lead to new franchise ventures. That said, Ferguson isn’t struggling for work with the Apple TV+ series “Silo,” could be returning to Arrakis for Denis Villeneuve‘s “Dune Messiah,” and previously lined up the lead role in the fantasy revenge flick “Best Served Cold” from director Tim Miller (“Deadpool”).

“Dune: Part Two” will debut in theaters on March 1 and is expected to open with a much larger fanfare than the original one.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT

‘Top Gun 3’ In The Works At Paramount With Director Joseph Kosinski Reportedly Returning

In the wake of the news that Tom Cruise had secured a new non-exclusive deal with Warner Bros. to help develop, produce, and star in new films at the studios, it looks like more work might be done at Paramount Pictures. Puck News first reported that Paramount has hired “Top Gun: Maverick” co-writer Ehren Kruger to write “Top Gun 3” with The Hollywood Reporter adding that director Joseph Kosinski is also expected to be returning to direct the third installment in the franchise focused on Navy combat pilots.

The 2022 sequel took decades to come together and became the first billion-dollar hit for Tom Cruise by earning an impressive $1.5 billion at the global box office. Apparently, the aim here is to reunite Cruise with actors Miles Teller (Rooster) and Glen Powell (Hangman) in a new sequel.

In the most recent film, Maverick (Tom Cruise) who is now a test pilot is reluctantly forced by U.S. military brass to train a group of highly skilled pilots at the Top Gun school for an upcoming suicide mission in a fabricated country. Instead of letting the team fail, he insists on joining them despite being extremely long-in-the-tooth and about to be shown the door by the Navy after decades of disobedience.

Cruise is currently working alongside Christopher McQuarrie (Who contributed to the “Maverick” script) to finish up “Mission: Impossible 8.” That spy flick could be the action star’s final outing with that franchise for the foreseeable future. He’s also been putting together a reunion with Doug Liman (“Edge of Tomorrow”) for a space project at Universal Pictures that is expected to film sequences at the International Space Station, which is expected to be the next feature film he shoots once “MI8” is completed. We’re still awaiting official word on the status of “Edge of Tomorrow 2,” which has been in various development stages going back at least four years with Liman attached to direct, but there had been multiple scheduling conflicts due to Cruise’s commitments at Paramount.

We’ll see how long this development process will take since Cruise has a busy schedule that has now been increased by this new Warner Bros. deal that will add on projects that likely haven’t even been announced.

SOURCE: PUCK NEWS & THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘What If…?’ Director & Head Writer Want Hayley Atwell To Land A Live-Action ‘Captain Carter’ Film Franchise

Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter was first introduced back in Captain America: The First Avenger and is a character that keeps chugging along, despite her death in Captain America: Civil War. Appearing in Avengers: Endgame and will have a reoccurring role in the animated series What…If? in subsequent seasons.

While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, What…If? head writer A.C. Bradley and director Bryan Andrews are now supporting the idea of Atwell getting her own live-action films as Captain Carter. Hopefully, they’ve extended this desire to Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel.

“I know A.C. and I feel totally the same in this, and while we don’t know if this is necessarily going to happen, it would be amazing if they would just do a Captain Carter movie. Just get Hayley Atwell in the suit, give her her own franchise and just have her blow doors like hells to the yeah.”

The Ronin echoed our own desire last week about Hayley Atwell’s Captain Carter leading her own team, a Multiverse version of The Invaders, for a live-action project.

To be fair, this ultimately might not happen as James Gunn has had some issues trying to get a Ravagers and Drax/Mantis series going at Marvel Studios in the past. So, it’s possible unless Captain Carter is a big part of the studio’s future plans we might not see her outside of animation leading her own adventures.

We can hope that Atwell gets more projects thanks to The Multiverse allowing Peggy Carter to return for things other than a third season of Agent Carter, which is the least likely thing to happen as Marvel Studios has indicated all Marvel Television projects fall outside of the main MCU canon.

There are already unconfirmed rumors Captain Carter might be appearing in upcoming films. However, her lengthy production shoot on Mission: Impossible 7 (spanning a year and a half) and eventually shoot for Mission: Impossible 8 might be a problem with her showing up in a significant way.

I guess we’ll have to be patient and see if Marvel ultimately uses Captain Carter on the live-action side of things.

SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

‘Dune’ Actress Rebecca Ferguson To Star In Sci-Fi Series ‘Wool’ For Apple TV+

Today, it was announced that Apple TV+ and AMC Studios are teaming on a series adaptation of the Hugh Howey sci-fi dystopian trilogy of novels that focuses on a community of survivors living underground in a ruined world, titled Wool, and they have selected British actress Rebecca Ferguson to play the lead role of Juliette with Graham Yost (Band of Brothers) writing and Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Games) directing.

Rebecca is best known for her role in the Mission: Impossible franchise and will be next seen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune remake in the role of Lady Jessica this October. Legendary is already developing a second Dune film to focus on the second half of the first novel and would allow Rebecca to reprise her part in the sci-fi epic. The studio is also working on an HBO Max series Dune: The Sisterhood, but there hasn’t been any word on casting for that series.

Ferguson recently shot Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible 7 during the pandemic and is assumed to return for the production of Mission: Impossible 8 later this year.

Some of the other Apple TV+ shows I’m anticipating is the Isaac Asimov adaptation Foundation alongside the WWII series Masters of The Air from producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

Below is the official press release from Apple.

Apple TV+ today announced a series order for “Wool,” a world building drama series based on Hugh Howey’s New York Times bestselling trilogy of dystopian novels that will star Rebecca Ferguson (“Dune,” “Mission: Impossible” films), who will also serve as executive producer. “Wool” will be written by Emmy-nominated screenwriter Graham Yost (“Band of Brothers,” “Justified”) and directed by Academy Award nominee Morten Tyldum (“Defending Jacob,” “The Imitation Game”).

“Wool” is a set in a ruined and toxic future where a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Ferguson will star as ‘Juliette,’ an independent and hardworking engineer.

The series is executive produced by Ferguson, Yost and Tyldum, alongside author Hugh Howey. Remi Aubuchon, Nina Jack and Ingrid Escajeda will also serve as executive producers on the drama, produced by AMC Studios.

SOURCE: APPLE

Emily Blunt Says Budget & Scheduling Are Still Roadblocks To Getting ‘Edge of Tomorrow 2’ Made – Despite An “Amazing” Script

A Quiet Place Part II is finally going to be released and actress Emily Blunt is doing the press tour to promote the horror flick directed by her hubby John Krasinski. One project that has been long in development is the sequel to the sci-fi action film Edge of Tomorrow with Blunt, Tom Cruise, and director Doug Liman attached to return once everything aligns.

However, it doesn’t sound from Emily Blunt’s recent comments that Edge of Tomorrow 2 is anywhere closer to getting made. Emily reiterated to The Howard Stern Show that the film’s budget might be too expensive for Warner Bros. alongside scheduling issues could be the real hold-up, not their desire to do it.

BLUNT: “We wanted to [make it]. Honestly, I think the movie’s too expensive. Yeah, I don’t know how we’re going to do it. I think that it’s hard to align everyone’s schedules. I would love it. Doug Liman would love it. Tom would love it. We’d all love to do it, but I think until we figure out what’s going on with the industry – honestly, I think we need to figure out what is the next road map for the kinds of films that people want to make.”

Blunt also telling Entertainment Weekly that the script is “amazing” but isn’t sure if it’ll get made or not, which might suggest that the script isn’t an issue unless it’s adding an extra hurdle to the budget.

Tom Cruise is going to be busy for the foreseeable future with Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible 8 still set to shoot after production delays caused by scheduling issues and the pandemic. He’s also attached to the $200 million budgeted action film from director Doug Liman that was picked-up by Universal Pictures. Emily Blunt is demand as well making things even more of a headache.

Warner Bros. still hasn’t given Edge of Tomorrow 2 a release date and it’ll be a miracle if it’s ever made at all.

SOURCE: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY & THE HOWARD STERN SHOW

Paramount Delays ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ To November, ‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Until May 2022 & ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Jumps To July 2023

Today, Paramount Pictures has announced a huge adjustment to their Tom Cruise films on their feature film schedule. As they’ve delayed the releases of Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible 7, and Mission: Impossible 8.

The new dates are below.

  • Top Gun: Maverick – November 19, 2021 
  • Mission: Impossible 7 – May 27, 2022 
  • Mission: Impossible 8 – July 7, 2023

Mission: Impossible 7 has completed production according to writer/director Christopher McQuarrie with the supporting cast includes Esai Morales, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Shea Whigham, and Henry Czerny.

Mission: Impossible 8 was originally going to shoot back-to-back with the seventh installment but the studio decided against it as it was going to conflict with the summer press tour for Top Gun: Maverick. However, with Maverick being pushed to November it’s unknown if that will motivate them to start filming sooner than expected.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK – After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.”

SOURCE: PARAMOUNT

‘Mission: Impossible’ Sequels Add Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Rob Delaney & Others To Cast – New Images Revealed

Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has announced via Instagram another wave of actors joining the cast of Paramount’s Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8. Those additions including Cary Elwes, Indira Varma (Game of Thrones, Obi-Wan Kenobi), Rob Delaney (Deadpool 2), Charles Parnell (The Last Ship), and British character actor Mark Gatiss (Sherlock).

McQuarrie posted a batch of images of the actors in what looks to be a scene from Mission: Impossible 7, I have to assume it’s some briefing scene (possibly presidential?).

The rest of the cast led by Tom Cruise includes Esai Morales, Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Henry Czerny.

Mission: Impossible 8 was originally planned to shoot back-to-back with Mission: Impossible 7, but due to Tom Cruise’s promotional schedule for Top Gun: Maverick later this year means they’ll have to pause production between installments. It’s not the worse idea imaginable as the cast and crew has either been shooting or waiting to shoot for an entire year, as the blockbuster was one of the first films to halt production due to the pandemic.

An audio clip of Tom Cruise chewing-out crew members not adhering to COVID-19 protocols went viral late last year and a break might have a positive impact on everyone’s morale.

Mission: Impossible 7 is slated for November 19th, 2021 and Mission: Impossible 8 is set for November 4th, 2022.

SOURCE: CHRISTOPHER MCQUARRIE

Hugh Jackman’s Dystopian Sci-Fi Movie ‘Reminiscence’ Directed By ‘Westworld’s Lisa Joy Coming To Theaters & HBO Max On September 3rd

Today, Warner Bros. has announced that their upcoming sci-fi drama Reminiscence has landed a late summer release as it will drop on September 3rd in theaters and on HBO Max.

The project is part of WarnerMedia’s controversial day-and-date release model.

Directed by Westworld’s Lisa Joy, the film stars X-Men actor Hugh Jackman, who plays a private eye who deals in recapturing vivid cherished memories for clients. He becomes vexed by one of those clients played by Mission: Impossible’s Rebecca Ferguson. The setting takes place slightly in the future as Miami has been transformed by climate change as much of the city submerged underwater.

Other actors in the film include Thandie Newton and Cliff Curtis.

A trailer is likely just around the corner as we’ve seen a glimpse of footage from a recent HBO Max promo. I’m curious if Reminiscence will skew more in the realm of Inception.

SOURCE: WARNER BROS.

‘Mission: Impossible 7’ & ‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Won’t Be Filming Back-To-Back As Schedule Will Conflict With ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Promotion

While the original plan was to shoot the next two Mission: Impossible films back-to-back under the working title Libra, that seems to be on hold according to a report from Deadline. As the outlet states Paramount Pictures is going to need Tom Cruise to help promote Top Gun: Maverick for it’s July 2nd release, assuming the film doesn’t get pushed to the fall or winter, which means that filming will need to be placed on pause for a bit.

Sources said this is simply down to the shifting release calendar. Star Tom Cruise will now be needed on promotional duties by the studio for Top Gun: Maverick ahead of that film’s planned release on July 2, and will be out of action for a period. 

This comes as Mission: Impossible 7 is heading back to London for some “finishing touches” according to writer/director Christopher McQuarrie on Instagram.

MCQUARRIE: “Now back to London for a few finishing touches. All aboard for our greatest challenge yet…”

Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.2 actress Pom Klementieff, who has a role in the films recently flew to Sydney, Australia to get ready to for the shoot of Marvel’s Thor: Love & Thunder. We have to assume this signaled that she had completed the filming for the first installment.

The rest of the cast includes Esai Morales, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Shea Whigham, and Henry Czerny.

Filming on the 7th installment hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine, there had paused back in March of 2020 due to the pandemic that led to production hiccups and a viral audio clip of Tom Cruise chewing out crew members for not adhering to the strict on-set COVID-19 protocols. It’s possible that everyone just needs a break after spending over a year on this film.

Mission: Impossible 7 is slated for November 19th, 2021 and Mission: Impossible 8 is set for November 4th, 2022.

TOP GUN: MAVERICK – After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.”

SOURCE: DEADLINE