Against all odds, the Mission: Impossible franchise has managed to be one of the consistently better film series out there. Hell, it’s better than consistent. With each movie, the stunts get bigger, the stakes higher, and the overall quality better — a far cry from your average movie franchise, which tends to diminish with each entry.
J.J. Abrams started this positive trend with Mission: Impossible III, but it really got kicked to a whole new level when Incredibles 2 director Brad Bird-helmed Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Then in its fifth entry, Christopher McQuarrie took the reins, bringing us Rogue Nation, and now Fallout. But will he be back for another one? McQuarrie spoke on Empire’s Spoiler Podcast, and in it, he gave us an idea of his mindset:
“[Fallout editor] Eddie Hamilton, every day in the editing room was like, ‘Come on, man, it’s obviously a trilogy you’re coming back, you have to finish it, you didn’t kill Lane,’ and I was like, ‘It’s somebody else’s problem.’ Tom has asked, the studio has asked, and I was like, ‘You know maybe I’ve got an idea for…’ and then the reviews came out and I was like, ‘Get outta here. Just stop.’ I felt so bad for the director of Mission 6 and I feel even worse of the director of 7. I’d rather have leprosy than be in the position of the person having to confront the pressure of the hyperbole of this movie on their first day of shooting the film. It’s too much to confront. I’d need a long nap before I could contemplate it.”
His mindset here is understandable. Like Christopher Nolan following The Dark Knight‘s success, he isn’t one to so easily hop into something that will have mammoth expectations going into it, and no one can really blame him.
RELATED – Tom Cruise Says They’ve Considered Taking Mission: Impossible To Space
I, personally, find myself of two minds. While I do like the idea of him coming back, I think part of the appeal of this franchise is that it’s one where a director comes in, gives the film his fingerprint, and then goes away for the next one to come in and bring his influence. Brian De Palma did the first one, setting the tone, John Woo threw that tone out the window and made his goofy-ass version, J.J. Abrams added a much-needed grounding to it, Brad Bird brought in the comedy and stronger characterizations, and Christoper McQuarrie amped up the kinetic filmmaking.
The idea of McQuarrie sticking around seems like a bit of a waste, both for a growing franchise and a filmmaker who could go off in a whole different direction. But what do you think? Let us know down below!