Tom Cruise will return as Ethan Hunt for a sixth “Mission: Impossible,” and shooting could start as early as a year from now.
Cruise made the announcement on Tuesday night’s “The Daily Show,” where he was promoting the launch of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.”
“We’re starting to work on it now. We’ll probably start shooting it next summer,” he told host Jon Stewart.
The previous films in the franchise have all been separated by at least four years. They were released in 1996, 2000, 2006 and 2011 and directed by Brian De Palma, John Woo, J.J. Abrams and Brad Bird.
Reps for Paramount, which has released all five films in the franchise dating back to 1996, had no comment.
The “Mission: Impossible” franchise has grossed a combined $2 billion at the worldwide box office. “Rogue Nation,” which carries a $150 million pricetag, will open in 40 international markets this weekend as well, including the U.K., Australia, Mexico and South Korea.
Cruise is also a producer on “Rogue Nation” along with J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk and David Ellison. Christopher McQuarrie is directing from a screenplay he wrote with Drew Pearce.
Cruise, 53, is currently shooting drug thriller “Mena” with Doug Liman directing.
He also considers an “Edge of Tomorrow” sequel with McQuarrie and Liman, who wrote and directed the sci-fi, respectively.
