3 Reasons Why Glen Powell is Tom Cruise’s Only Worthy Successor to Lead Mission: Impossible Franchise

Glen Powell’s career might have taken a long time to take off, but now that it has, there is hardly anyone who is not talking about him. To put it simply, he is the man of the moment, and with someone as important as Tom Cruise favoring him, it was only a matter of time before his popularity skyrocketed.

Cruise and Powell became fast friends after working together in Top Gun: Maverick. The latter’s dedication to his craft impressed the Eyes Wide Shut star so much that he took him under his wing. Cruise has been playing IMF agent, Ethan Hunt, for almost three decades now.

He is willing to retire from the franchise, but not without handing over the baton to someone worthy. This worthy man happens to be Glen Powell and there are 3 solid reasons why he is the perfect successor of Cruise.

3 Reasons Why Glen Powell is the Perfect Successor of Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt

Glen Powell’s first movie as a lead actor was Set It Up, released in 2018. In Top Gun: Maverick, he played the eccentric character of Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, but not without Tom Cruise convincing him to do it. This movie turned out to be a game-changer and put him on the radar of some rather good directors and producers.

One of the primary reasons why Powell could be the next Ethan Hunt is because he has what it takes to be a lead star. Having been in the industry for some time and his most recent movies like Hit Man, Twisters, and the sleeper-hit Anyone but You, his acting skills are certainly polished and could be put to good use in the Mission: Impossible movies.

Another reason why he is perfect for the role is his good looks. His effortless boyish charm along with a sculpted physique also makes him a very good choice for the role. His current popularity among cinephiles and netizens is proof enough of this.

The most important reason why he could pull off the character without much convincing to do for the audience is perhaps that he would be the smoothest transition from Cruise. This is not to say that he is the only one who can do it. Other actors like Michael B. Jordan, Simu Liu, and Jeremy Renner could also lead the franchise. Even so, Powell is perhaps the best choice for it.

Glen Powell Discredited Rumors About Replacing Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible Franchise

The entirety of the internet might be rooting for Powell to take the baton from Cruise to lead the spy-action film franchise forward, but the Devotion actor himself is not very keen on taking it up. In fact, he wants nothing to do with it if his words are anything to go by.

When Pat McAfee cold-called him during one of the episodes of his show to congratulate him, Powell was quick to debunk the rumors (via X). He said: “My mom would never let me do that.” Then, he said that the franchise was “the worst gig in town” insisting that everyone knew this. Powell also proceeded to call it “a death trap” with reference to the fact that Cruise does all these death-defying stunts on his own.

The eighth Mission: Impossible film’s teaser trailer was dropped recently and fans are quite excited about it. However, there is a chance that this might be the last movie in the franchise starring Cruise as the lead.

So, either the franchise will be over or the Academy Award nominee will have to be replaced unless he is planning to continue doing it for as long as he can. Either way, the chances of Powell taking up the lead role look thin right now but not zero because Cruise has changed his mind once about a role, and he might be able to do it again.