After reports claim Tom Cruise is leaving Mission Impossible franchise after Dead Reckoning, director reacts

After over two decades and eight movies (two of which are yet to release), Tom Cruise may finally be done with the mega successful Mission Impossible franchise. Recent reports claim that Tom is stepping away from the series and the upcoming two films–Dead Reckoning 1 & 2–have been made to bid farewell to Tom’s iconic character Ethan Hunt. However, the films’ director Christopher McQuarrie has advised fans to take these reports with a pinch of salt. Also read: Mission Impossible 7 trailer: Tom Cruise returns with death-defying action sequences

The first Mission Impossible film was released in 1996 and was a huge success, establishing Tom as an action star. The six films that have released so far have collectively earned $3.5 billion at the global box office. A two-story arc is currently under production with Dead Reckoning Part One releasing in 2023 and Dead Reckoning Part Two in 2024.

According to a Variety report, the films are meant to be a sendoff for Tom’s character and a ‘culmination’ for the series. However, when asked to comment on it, director Christopher told Light the Fuse podcast, “Let me tell you, I’ve been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been standing next to the man, witnessed an event and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true.”

Christopher added that these rumours are being spread by people with an ‘agenda’. “When you read articles in the trades, just put the imaginary word in front of the headline: ‘The Agenda Is…’ When you read ‘anonymous sources’ or ‘sources close to the production say,’ that’s somebody putting it out there for a specific reason,” he said.

Dead Reckoning Part One, is scheduled to release in theatres on July 14, 2023. Apart from Tom, it also stars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, Rob Delaney, Henry Czerny, and Cary Elwes.