You might ask why a geek news site is interested in such a mainstream action movie that doesn’t come out for another 5 months. Well, I will give you THREE reasons:
#1 – Produced by JJ Abrams, who along with Mission Impossible 3 is also responsible for LOST, Alias, Star Trek 2009, and this summer’s Super 8.
#2 – Tom Cruise co-stars with a slew of geek favorites: Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead), Jeremy Renner (The Avengers‘ Hawkeye) and Josh Holloway (Sawyer from LOST).
#3 – This is a big one: Its the first live action movie directed by Brad Bird. He’s the screenwriter for the cult classic *batteries not included and a veteran animation writer and director with credits on The Simpsons, but he’s also responsible for 3 of the best animated movies of the past decade: The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille.
Bird took the gig directing Mission Impossible because Disney/Pixar delayed production of his intended next film, 1906, which would be Pixar’s first live action movie, about the 1906 earthquake the nearly destroyed San Fransisco. If Mission Impossible exceeds expectations, that movie will likely shuffle into production quicker.