Exclusive: Mission Impossible Series In Development

A trusted and proven inside source for Giant Freakin Robot has shared that a Mission: Impossible series is currently in development.

By Faith McKay | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

mission impossible series

Today, most audiences familiar with the Impossible Missions Force know it through Tom Cruise and his many Mission: Impossible films, but the story actually got started back in the 1960s with a TV series that proved so popular it had a revival in the late 1980s. Now, we’re hearing that Paramount wants to bring their popular espionage franchise back to television. A trusted and proven inside source for Giant Freakin Robot has shared that a Mission: Impossible series is currently in development.

Our source shared that the new series is in the works for streaming on Paramount+. They said that the new Mission: Impossible series is still in development, which means it’s early days yet. At this point, it sounds they’re still working on what the story will be.

So far, this is all our source was able to share with us about the new project. There’s of course one big question that comes to mind right away. Will Tom Cruise be in the new series? Unfortunately, we don’t currently have confirmed answers for this. There’s another question here, too. If Tom Cruise isn’t in the project, will it still be in the same cinematic universe? We don’t know. However, we would speculate that the plan is to have the new Mission: Impossible series and Tom Cruise movies in the same cinematic universe, even without the movie’s star.

Of course, that could make a problem for the writers. While there’s the possibility that Paramount+ could get Tom Cruise to appear on their new Mission: Impossible series, it feels doubtful. Tom Cruise hasn’t been known for working in television. He also requires a very large budget more in line with a blockbuster film. Could the new series take place in the same cinematic universe without having his character appear? Probably. They could have him far enough removed that it doesn’t often come up, and Ethan Hunt (Cruise’s character) could simply be mentioned some times. While that’s something that’s been done, it’s definitely something the writers will have to work on figuring out as they develop the new Mission: Impossible series.

mission impossible series

The Mission: Impossible movies focus in on Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, whereas the original Mission: Impossible series centered on an ensemble cast. It would make the most sense that the new Paramount+ project will return to an ensemble cast format, since that’s often how series set things up. The Tom Cruise movies have introduced many characters over the years. In fact, the writer behind Mission: Impossible 8 has even said that he’s willing to bring back characters that have passed away. Does that mean Henry Cavill could appear in the new Paramount+ series? According to the filmmaker, he could appear in the eight movie. About a return for Cavill, the filmmaker said, “There is no such thing as death in movies, only unavailability.” So apparently, that’s entirely plausible.

It’s good to see Paramount using their streaming service to build out the worlds for the stories their audiences already love. Recently, Paramount announced a lot of plans for the company moving forward, including a rebrand, new movies, and shows, and their intention to bring their big-screen productions to Paramount+ streaming starting in 2024, including Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 8. This further supports the possibility of them introducing the new series on streaming, where audiences will be watching the movies. Hopefully this will mean a lot more wild stunts in the Mission: Impossible world for fans to enjoy soon.