It’s not exactly shocking that once “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” stormed out of the gate at the box office last winter, confirming that Tom Cruise had his box office mojo back and was in full form, that Paramount wanted to stay in business with the actor. It wasn’t long before word came out that the studio was already contemplating not only another adventure for Ethan Hunt, but one for Maverick as well in the shape of the long-developing “Top Gun 2.” But considering ‘Ghost Protocol’ is the best entry in the series so far, both critically and commerically, we figured that would be the one to go first. Not so fast.
Chatting with THR, Paramount honcho Adam Goodman reveals, “We’ll likely make a Top Gun sequel with Tom Cruise first. Jerry Bruckheimer would produce, with Tony Scott returning to direct. All parties are moving ahead. We’ve hired Peter Craig to write the script.” It’s a bit surprising, though it does make some sense. There’s no writer or director for ‘Mission’ follow-up yet, while Tony Scott has been attached to “Top Gun 2” since 2010, and the project as a whole is probably further along the development chain, even if Craig was only hired last month.
But those aren’t the only movies Paramount is hoping will mean more Cruise in years to come. The studio is also behind the upcoming Christopher McQuarrie-directed thriller “One Shot.” “We see ‘One Shot,’ based on Lee Child’s novels, as a potential franchise,” Goodman said and well, that’s a no brainer. There are already seventeen books in the series about the mysterious ex-military man and drifter who uses his skills to help those in need. So of course, if that movie is the hit it should be, it’s no shock that Paramount will want more.
But none of these are going to start rolling with any kind of speed until 2013. Cruise is booked for the the rest of the year on Joseph Kosinski‘s “Oblivion,” which he’ll follow with Doug Liman‘s “All You Need Is Kill.” But in case you had any doubt, Tom Cruise is back and arguably bigger than ever.
