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?
This Is good news- and not actually surprising. Renner started out as a supporting actor, and Hurt Locker’s success (and his Oscar nomination) made his career. I think it’s a great move to not only pass the mantle to another actor, but also an actor who could be bankable. The window for Renner to do MI:4 is good at the moment…before he picks up Hawkeye’s quiver in Avengers.
Renner is great, but he’s not that young. Didn’t they say they wanted to cast a younger person? Renner is 40. He’s not that much younger than Cruise, nor does he look much younger either.
They probably did at one point, but when an actor who is considered ‘hot’ by Hollywood standards, the scramble for offers pours in. There is a little bit of a window between now and The Avengers; the studio and producers also think that perhaps Renner could also be lead material.
am I the only one who remembers him from S.W.A.T instead of Hurt Locker?
I remember him from S.W.A.T. Its just that since Hurt Locker was a more well known film that’s what his name will be mentioned with (you know the drill when an actor/actress is named is usually in the form of “_____ from _____”).
Hell I even recall him from an episode of the tv show Angel. And from a short lived tv show on ABC (I think it was called “The Unusuals”).
After seeing him in S.W.A.T. I think he makes a cool villian. But instead of the usual rookie goes rogue story I’d like to see something a little different. Maybe like MI:4 starts off with Renner’s character as a villain but by the end of the movie he turns good.
Hello Francisco!
I would like to see an actress playing the villain…maybe Elizabeth Mitchell or Sharon Stone
Please dear god no!
I don’t want to see Cruise going rogue and Renner after him it would work better if it was a combination of “shooter” where the master teaches and they work together to kick some ass.
I am glad for Jeremy. He did a very good job at “The hurt locker”. I hope it works for him. I love Philip Seymour Hoffman and I do not think working on MI3 worked for him. I do not watch those movies anyway. That franchise is a big waste of time.