For nearly a decade now, Christopher McQuarrie has decided to strictly work on Tom Cruise films. You have to go back to 2013’s “Jack the Giant Slayer” to find a non-Cruise film written or directed by McQuarrie. And it appears the filmmaker isn’t ready to end the collaborations after the next two “Mission: Impossible” films either.
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Speaking on the newest episode of the Light the Fuse podcast (via The Wrap), Christopher McQuarrie teased what is coming next after he’s done working on “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part 1” and “Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part 2,” expected to be released in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Even though the ‘Mission’ franchise is likely coming to an end after those films, McQuarrie is far from done working with Tom Cruise.
“It’s kind of under wraps,” McQuarrie said about his post-‘Mission’ film. “It has neither a fuse nor a fuselage. Oh that’s not true. It does have some fuselages. It’s something we’ve talked about for a really long time. It’s way outside of what you’re used to seeing Tom do. It’s the kind of stuff I really love. It’s a little bit more in my wheelhouse. And yet it takes everything we’ve learned on this journey, which is making movies more and more about emotion and real emotional experiences.”
He continued, “That’s what you’re feeling when you’re watching ‘Top Gun’ – it’s me and Tom squeezing your adrenals for every emotion. Now we’re applying that to something that is gnarlier.”
Even if you wish McQuarrie would work on something non-Cruise sometime soon, there’s no denying the duo are pretty damn great together. Their work on the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films keeps getting better with each entry. And when McQuarrie just writes for Cruise, you get films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Edge of Tomorrow,” which are both pretty great. So, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
Plus, who isn’t excited about a McQuarrie film described as “gnarlier” than the ‘Mission’ films? And if the filmmaker is correct and the mystery project is more in line with his previous features, such as “The Way of the Gun” and “The Usual Suspects,” then it could be a much-needed breather for Cruise, who has been doing action films exclusively for years now. (Something Mickey Rourke not-so-kindly pointed out recently.)
Regardless, even if they announce more action films and more “Mission: Impossible” films, we’re here for whatever Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie decide to do next. You can hear the full podcast episode below: