Tom Cruise’s Desire to Follow into Harrison Ford’s Footsteps With Mission: Impossible Could Doom the Franchise

Mission: Impossible has been entertaining audiences since 1996, with Tom Cruise reprising his role as Ethan Hunt and becoming synonymous with daring stunts and dangerous espionage. It has transitioned from just spies versus spies to presenting daring aerial stunts, climbing the tallest building in the world, and more.

However, the eighth film in the franchise indicates a budding tension between Cruise’s aspirations and the studio’s necessities. And by looking at the franchise’s recent box office numbers, it only gets even more interesting.

Studio Plans Clash With Tom Cruise’s Harrison Ford-Like Vision

Paramount Pictures is considering promoting Mission: Impossible 8 as the final chapter of Ethan Hunt. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, it looks like Tom Cruise is not ready to throw his spy gear away just yet. Instead, the actor wants to play Hunt as long as he can.

Citing Harrison Ford as an inspiration for his vision, Cruise earlier told Sydney Morning Herald,

Harrison Ford is a legend, I hope to be still going, I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.

Cruise’s dream comes at a crucial time for the franchise. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, despite positive reviews received on its release, was the weakest-grossing film of the franchise since 2006. According to Box Office Mojo, the film collected $570.6 million worldwide with a production budget of about $291 million, making the film barely profitable.

The stakes are even higher for Mission: Impossible 8. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the budget will be about $400 million. Together with the delay in production and various setbacks, the movie will have a lot of responsibilities and expectations to fulfill.

The movie has already experienced some difficulties, like the interruption by the 2023 writer strikes. However, the shooting was finally wrapped recently, but the huge budget means it must do extremely well financially to make a profit.

Moreover, unlike previous films, Dead Reckoning ended in a cliffhanger, which is often seen among franchises that conclude with two films combined. So, whether Paramount goes with their approach or Cruise wins over them with his plans is yet to be seen.

Cannes Premiere Raises Concerns About Mission: Impossible 8‘s Reception

Paramount’s plan to premiere Mission: Impossible 8 at the Cannes Film Festival has caused quite a stir amongst critical viewers. The recent history shows this may be a risky proposition, as Cannes has not been lucky for the recent high-profile films.

Harrison Ford‘s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny suffered a strongly negative reception at Cannes, which heavily affected the film’s commercial potential. The film was produced on a budget of about $294 million (as per Collider), and it grossed about $383 million (as per Box Office Mojo).

Apart from them, Horizon: An American Saga and Joker: Folie à Deux are some more recent examples that show why premiering at Cannes might be a bad idea for Mission: Impossible 8. The festival’s high-demanding critics have not spared mainstream movies in the past few years. 

Horizon: An American Saga- Chapter 1 has grossed about $38.2 million worldwide (as per Box Office Mojo) and Joker 2 grossed about $201.5 million (as per Box Office Mojo) despite having a budget of about $200 million (as per Collider).

But it appears that Paramount has had a wake-up call from other mistakes. The film’s Cannes premiere has been planned for May 13-24, which will coincide with the worldwide release date of May 23, 2025. Consequently, any serious criticism would occur right at the time when regular reviews will balance it out.

Mission: Impossible 8 will be globally released in theaters on May 23, 2025.