Paramount Nearly Replaced Tom Cruise With Marvel Star
Paramount once considered a future for Mission: Impossible without Tom Cruise at the helm. Find out which Marvel actor was lined up to take over and how Cruise managed to keep his iconic role.
For decades, Mission: Impossible has been tied to Tom Cruise, but there was a time when the studio behind the franchise was eyeing a different direction. Simon Pegg recently revealed that Paramount execs were seriously weighing up a future where Cruise wasn’t the main man, and Jeremy Renner—fresh off his Marvel success—was in the running to take the lead.
Studio Doubts and Cruise’s Public Image
Back in the late 2000s, Cruise’s reputation took a few knocks. His infamous appearance on Oprah’s couch, where he bounced around declaring his love, was splashed across the tabloids. Not exactly a great look, and it left plenty of folks scratching their heads. He also made headlines on the Today Show for his outspoken views on psychiatry, which didn’t sit well with the studio bigwigs.
With all this going on, Paramount started to rethink their approach. Early drafts for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol had Ethan Hunt sidelined by a leg injury, shifting him into a desk job at the IMF. This would have paved the way for Jeremy Renner’s character, William Brandt, to step up as the new action lead. The plan was to keep Hunt around, but not as the main focus.
Renner’s Rise and the Franchise’s Future
At the time, Renner was riding high after The Hurt Locker and was seen as the next big thing in Hollywood. The studio was keen to capitalise on his momentum, thinking he could carry the franchise forward. It’s a common move in the industry—older stars often hand over the reins to a younger face, keeping things fresh for punters.
But Cruise wasn’t having a bar of it. According to Pegg, he made a beeline from Vancouver to Los Angeles and confronted Paramount’s chairman, Brad Grey, at a party. He put his foot down and made it clear he wasn’t ready to step aside just yet.
Keeping the Franchise Alive
With Cruise still in the driver’s seat, the script for Ghost Protocol was reworked. He brought in Christopher McQuarrie, a writer he trusted, to ensure Ethan Hunt stayed front and centre as the unstoppable field agent fans had come to expect. The result? The film was a massive hit, and Cruise continued to lead the series through its next instalments.
Here’s a quick look at the Mission: Impossible films over the years:
Title – Director – IMDb Rating – Rotten Tomatoes – Worldwide Box Office
Mission: Impossible (1996) – Brian De Palma – 7.2/10 – 67% – $457.6M
Mission: Impossible II (2000) – John Woo – 6.1/10 – 58% – $549.5M
Mission: Impossible III (2006) – J.J. Abrams – 6.9/10 – 73% – $399.3M
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) – Brad Bird – 7.4/10 – 93% – $694.7M
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) – Christopher McQuarrie – 7.4/10 – 94% – $688.8M
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) – Christopher McQuarrie – 7.7/10 – 98% – $786.2M
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) – Christopher McQuarrie – 7.6/10 – 96% – $565.3M
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) – Christopher McQuarrie – 7.2/10 – 80% – $591.3M
All the Mission: Impossible films are currently streaming on Paramount+ for Aussie viewers keen to catch up.