Production begins on the latest entry in Tom Cruise’s action franchise, Mission: Impossible 6, as confirmed by director Christopher McQuarrie and cinematographer Rob Hardy. Paramount initially launched the Mission: Impossible series in 1996 to decent reviews and a respectable box office take, which prompted the studio to green light two sequels that were successful enough. Then director Brad Bird took over the franchise for a fourth installment, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, in 2011, and the Cruise-led series was revitalized, earning its best reviews and box office take to date.

McQuarrie took the reigns for 2015’s Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and though it wasn’t quite as successful as Ghost Protocol, the fifth entry was a worthy followup to Bird’s contribution to the franchise. Now, both McQuarrie and Cruise are returning for the sixth film in the series, which began filming according to a pair of new social media posts.

McQuarrie confirmed production has begun on Mission: Impossible 6 through a photo posted to his personal Instagram account of the film’s clapperboard with the title “Mi: 6” clearly visible. The movie’s cinematographer Rob Hardy posted his own image of the clapperboard on his Instagram. Both images are accompanied with the phrase, “Light the fuse.” Take a look:

Light the fuse… (photo @rdhardy) A post shared by Christopher McQuarrie (@christophermcquarrie) on Apr 8, 2017 at 12:22am PDT

Light the fuse. A post shared by R o b H a r d y b s c (@rdhardy) on Apr 8, 2017 at 12:22am PDT

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These photos from McQuarrie and Hardy arrive mere days after Cruise headed to Paris for Mission: Impossible 6 pre-production - though given his major role in the film, he’ll likely start filming soon enough if he hasn’t already. Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will be joined in Mission: Impossible 6 by returning characters Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Ghost Protocol addition William Brandt was recently confirmed not to appear since portrayer Jeremy Renner is filming Avengers: Infinity War. Newcomers to Mission: Impossible 6 include Henry Cavill (Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice), Vanessa Kirby (The Crown), and Sian Brooke (Sherlock).

Although the new franchise entry is kicking off production in France, Paramount confirmed during their CinemaCon presentation that Mission: Impossible 6 will film in London, India, and New Zealand as well. Beyond where the movie will film and who is set to appear, little is known about the upcoming series installment. Of course, with filming now beginning, set photos as well as other tidbits from the cast and creative team are sure to begin rolling out.

Given how Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation managed to revive the action/adventure series, and be even more successful than Paramount’s original trilogy, it’s likely Mission: Impossible 6 will carry on that success. Certainly, with two important factors returning - Cruise and McQuarrie - fans of the revitalized Mission: Impossible franchise have reason to be excited.

Next: Tom Cruise Spent a Year Training for Mission: Impossible 6 Stunt

Source: Christopher McQuarrie, Rob Hardy

  • Mission Impossible 6 Release Date: 2018-07-27