The Kidd here...
I'm sure there will be some disappointed faces upon here at the news that Brad Bird won't be back for another MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, but that's the way it goes some times, and, in particular with this franchise, Paramount has been pretty firm in bringing new directors to the table to give each film its own unique feel. If there were going to be any repeat customers in the director's chair, it would have been the last two installments, which are widely considered the best of the bunch, but neither J.J. Abrams nor Bird now returned, so the series moves onto yet another auteur. And it's looking more and more like Christopher McQuarrie will step into the slot.
Deadline reports that Paramount has been thrilled with his work on JACK REACHER, as have Tom Cruise and Abrams, who has stayed on with the series as a producer, and, as a result, they're ready to hand over the reins to the fifth installment to him. Cruise has been building a working relationship with McQuarrie since he penned the script for VALKYRIE, as McQuarrie also wrote ALL YOU NEED IS KILL and was working on TOP GUN 2 before the film collapsed.
Following the enormous success of M:I4, Paramount would like to get the next sequel up and running sooner rather than later, and locking up a director they're satisfied with would be a big step towards making that happen since the principal cast is mostly cemented.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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