Will Brad Pitt Replace Tom Cruise as Star of Mission Impossible Films?

Posted on September 19, 2006

Tom Cruise may no longer be the star of the Mission Impossible franchise. A report today claims that he's been replaced by Brad Pitt.

An Access Hollywood report says Pitt won't play Ethan Hunt. Instead he would be a new operative with his own team.

Most insiders agree that Pitt is a big enough star but not everyone is behind the switch. Some sources told Access Hollywood that Paramount was willing to play Pitt $39 million. Scott Mantz doesn't think that is very likely. He says, "But you're talking about paying out $39 million before you've even shot the film and given how fickle Paramount was in green lighting the third movie, in terms of talking the budget down like they did, it seems highly unlikely the new regime would be willing to pay out $39 million for a star."

It would be a real blow to Cruise. Why not cast both Cruise and Pitt? It would probably be too expensive. We just hope they bring back director J.J. Abrams -- he did a fantastic job on the last film.