Empire Online has reported that the director of the next instalment in the Mission Impossible franchise has been announced. Brad Bird the director of films such as ‘The Iron Giant’ and ‘The Incredibles’ has signed on for the fourth film in the ongoing Mission Impossible saga with Tom Cruise to return to the role of Ethan Hunt.
This is an interesting choice given Bird’s strong involvement with animated productions throughout his career though he has directed a number of great films so this is good news for Mission Impossible fans, though JJ Abrams not returning to direct is likely to disappoint some.
The Mission Impossible franchise has been a little up and down so far with a great first instalment by Brian De Palme followed by John Woo’s mixed interpretation of the franchise before Abrams took over with his own ‘Alias’ style take on things which for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed and thought it was a great Mission Impossible film.
With pre-production not having started yet it’s likely we won’t see the finished product until sometime in 2011, until then let us know your thoughts on another Mission Impossible film with Ethan Hunt in the comments section below.