Paramount have unveiled the second official trailer for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. No Eminem backing track this time, but we see plenty of well polished action scenes and special effects money-shots, along with some throwbacks to the previous films.

Watch below:

When a terrorist bombing destroys the Kremlin, the United States government activates “Ghost Protocol” and disavows the entire Impossible Mission Force. Ethan Hunt and his team are blamed for the attack, but are allowed to escape as part of a plan to enable them to operate outside their agency. Hunt is warned that if any member of his team is captured or compromised, they will be charged as terrorists planning a nuclear strike. He is forced to work with fellow IMF agent Brandt, who knows much more about Hunt and his past than Hunt himself.

The Incredibles helmer Brad Bird is making his live-action directorial debut with the fourth film and Tom Cruise is once again joined by Simon Pegg, along with newcomers Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton (Precious) and Josh Holloway (Lost). Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) and Lea Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) will play villains.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will be released December 16th, 2011.

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Pixar’s Cars franchise may be making billions in merchandise sales, but most fans would much prefer they focus their attention onto The Incredibles, and a sequel which is long overdue.

Director Brad Bird has recently moved into live-action with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but in a recent interview he said he would return to animation and make The Incredibles 2 “in a second” if he could come up with a worthly story.

From Movies.com

“I would like to think that I have several good ideas that could be incorporated into a next Incredibles, but I don’t have a whole movie yet, and the last thing I want to do is do it just because it would open big, or something like that.”

“I want to do it because I have something that will be as good or better than the original,” he insisted. “Toy Story 2 was, to me, a perfect sequel, because it absolutely respected the first film but found new places to go without selling out its characters. So if I could come up with an idea that is to Incredibles that Toy Story 2 is to Toy Story, I would do it in a second.”

Pixar won’t make the sequel without him (in the interview he called the original movie his “child”) so whether we see a follow-up is entirely down to Brad Bird. His next project could be earthquake movie 1906 which he’s been trying to get off the ground for a while, but if not he could decide to get a script together for The Incredibles 2. Wishful thinking.

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Paramount today released the first official trailer for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and it looks fantastic. Putting an Eminem song over a trailer filled with exploding buildings, dust storms and gun fights doesn’t work on paper, but strangely it works here.

Watch below:

When a terrorist bombing destroys the Kremlin, the United States government activates “Ghost Protocol” and disavows the entire Impossible Mission Force. Ethan Hunt and his team are blamed for the attack, but are allowed to escape as part of a plan to enable them to operate outside their agency. Hunt is warned that if any member of his team is captured or compromised, they will be charged as terrorists planning a nuclear strike. He is forced to work with fellow IMF agent Brandt, who knows much more about Hunt and his past than Hunt himself.

The Incredibles helmer Brad Bird is making his live-action directorial debut with the fourth film and Tom Cruise is once again joined by Simon Pegg, along with newcomers Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton (Precious) and Josh Holloway (Lost). Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) and Lea Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) will play villains.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will be released December 16th, 2011.

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We’ve been hearing that Mission: Impossible 4 wouldn’t be given that title upon its release, and now according to Vulture the official title was revealed today by Tom Cruise at a press conference in Dubai.

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.

On the title Cruise said:

“One of the things I always wanted for the franchise was for it not to have a number afterwards,” said Cruise. “I’ve never done sequels to films and I never thought of these films as sequels. Paramount has done a great job in coming up with a title, so it’s not going to be MI2, 3, 4: It’s going to be Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol.”

The Ghost Protocol part will probably become clearer as we get more details on the films plot. Other than Cruise, the cast includes Jeremy Renner who will play a fellow agent. Paula Patton will play an operative who works with them, as do Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg who are back in their roles. Michael Nyqvist (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire) and Lea Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) will play villains.

Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol is currently filming under the direction of Brad Bird, and will be released December 2011.

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Paramount has secured two more actors for the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise: Slumdog Millionaire game show host Anil Kapoor and Inglourious Basterds actress Lea Seydoux. More after the jump.

Deadline initially reported Kapoor would play a villain, but Paramount contacted them to correct the story; apparently, he’s playing “an integral supporting role” but it won’t be as a villain. As for Seydoux (whom you might also recognize from her turn in Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood), The Hollywood Reporter confirms she will play the lead female villain taking on Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Jeremy Renner’s unnamed up-and-comer in the IMF.

Seydoux joins The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo star Michael Nyqvist on the villainous side in the movie, while franchise newcomers Renner and Paula Patton join veterans Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames.

Brad Bird (The Incredibles) is making his live-action debut with this movie, which STILL doesn’t have an official title – pick one already! – and is currently filming in Europe under the working title Aries. [This happens fairly regularly for larger films: Inception shot under the working title Oliver's Arrow.]

What do you think about the newest cast additions to MI: 4? Do you have high hopes for this movie?

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According to Deadline Paula Patton will be joining Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner in Mission: Impossible 4 (which won’t be called Mission: Impossible 4). Lauren German and Kristen Kreuk also tested, but Patton eventually won the role of a young operative who works with Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character.

Paula Patton is best known for her roles in Deja Vu alongside Denzel Washington and more recently Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. The yet-to-be-titled Mission Impossible: 4 will be a reboot of sorts, and won’t pick up from where MI: 3 left off. Brad Bird’s film will only involve two agents played by Cruise and Renner, although Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will be reprising their roles.

Filming will begin later this year in locations such as Vancouver, Prague, Dubai and the U.S. Paramount has set a December 2011 release date.

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After news broke that Jeremy Renner would be joining Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: 4 yesterday Variety managed to get a few more details on the film, and where it is heading. Apparently Paramount may not even be calling it Mission Impossible: 4, opting instead for a standalone title like The Dark Knight, which differed from Batman Begins.

The fourth film won’t pick up from where MI: 3 left off, but they are planning ahead for subsequent films where Renner could play the central character. Variety also say Brad Bird’s film will only involve two agents played by Cruise and Renner, instead of a team of agents like in the previous films.

It looks like the yet-to-be-titled Mission Impossible: 4 will be a reboot of sorts, with new characters and a fresh angle. Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will be reprising their roles though so it won’t be forgetting the previous films.

No word yet on when filming will begin but the locations are said to be Vancouver, Prague, Dubai and the U.S. Paramount has set a December 2011 release date, so production will probably begin before the end of the year.

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Yesterday we heard that Paramount were looking at Kevin Zegers, Christopher Egan and Anthony Mackie for a possible role in Mission: Impossible 4. They would add new blood to the franchise, and after the box office performance of Knight and Day it would mean Tom Cruise isn’t the sole attraction.

Well according to Deadline Paramount has scrapped tests with those actors, and has hired The Hurt Locker actor Jeremy Renner instead.

The studio has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was to selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series, should Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character not continue to be the emphasis. While Cruise is expected to return for a fifth installment, production chief Adam Goodman wanted a guy who could grow into a leading man in his own right. Actors like Tom Hardy and Star Trek’s Chris Pine were considered, but were booked. Goodman, sources said, felt Renner “has a Daniel Craig quality” that the studio chief liked.

Renner is a good choice, and with both Mission and The Avengers the actor could be embarking on new career path as an actor star, especially if both franchises continue beyond these films.

Mission Impossible 4, which is currently set for a December 2011 release, will be produced by J.J Abrams and directed by Brad Bird (Ratatouille). Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will also be reprising their roles.

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After Knight and Day put a crack in Tom Cruises’ bankability there was talk of Paramount inserting a younger agent into Mission: Impossible 4 so that Cruise wasn’t the sole lead of the movie, and with Cruise approaching the grand age of 50 they may need someone else to take over the franchise at some point.

The actor is a-lock for the movie (after taking a pay cut), but it seems the younger agent talk may have some truth to it, as Keven Zegers, Christopher Egan and Anthony Mackie are currently testing for a role in the film.

From The Wrap:

Anthony Mackie, Kevin Zegers and Chris Egan are all being eyed for roles in the highly-anticipated sequel, individuals familiar with the casting process have told Deal Central. For its part, Paramount has denied to TheWrap that the trio are in contention to join the cast.

It’s unclear whether the actors are in competition with one another, or whether there are several parts to be cast, but TheWrap has learned that they’ve auditioned to be new additions to the “M:I” team, and will screen test shortly.

The age range of all three actors is 25-30 so there is a chance they may be auditioning for the same role, although I suppose there is also the possibility that Ethan Hunt requires a new team. If I had to go with one actor it would be Anthony Mackie as he was great in The Hurt Locker and deserves a shot in a big franchise movie.

Mission Impossible 4, which currently is set for a December 2011 release, will be produced by J.J Abrams and directed by Brad Bird (Ratatouille). Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will also be reprising their roles.

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Three weeks after its release Knight and Day has yet to cross the $75 million mark at the US box office and Paramount, who are currently getting the budget together for Mission Impossible 4, are taking note.

According to The Vulture as Tom Cruise can no longer guarantee box office success (not in the US anyway) Paramount is looking elsewhere for half of the production budget, and will only be paying Cruise after they have made their money back.

Here’s how they word it:

Cruise, who earned north of $90 million for the first Mission: Impossible in 1996 from gross participation and producing fees, is said to have agreed to be paid “scale” (that is, Screen Actors Guild minimum payment) for his acting in the franchise’s fourth installment, but will “get a nice back-end after cash break-even,” according to one insider familiar with the situation. (In English, that means that Cruise will take almost no salary up front, and will only be paid a portion of the grosses only after the studio recoups its investment, said to be about $70 million.)

Mission: Impossible III made nearly $400 million worldwide back in 2006, and while it was the lowest grossing of the franchise, Paramount will probably be happy if MI4 gets anywhere near that amount. Tom Cruise will be too as none of his movies have managed to make more than $200 million since. It will also mean he can get paid.

Mission Impossible 4, which currently is set for a December 2011 release, will be produced by J.J Abrams and directed by Brad Bird (Ratatouille).

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