Jeremy Renner has half-confirmed what we already sort of suspected: he could be taking the Mission: Impossible movie franchise over from series star Tom Cruise.
Currently shooting the franchise’s fourth outing – which, tellingly, has dropped its numerals in favour of the reboot-nodding title Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol – Renner has discussed the future of the series.
“It’s a franchise to potentially take over,” he tells MTV . “I can’t predict the future and what they want, but that’s certainly the idea.”
Renner goes on to reveal that Cruise has been heavily involved in Protocol ’s action scenes, while Renner himself has been training in hand-to-hand combat.
“I haven’t gotten to work too much in terms of acting stuff, but the stunts have been insane… Tom has been doing loads. He’s crazy, that guy. It’s unbelievable. He’s fearless. He’s great to watch. He inspires me to want to be better.
“I’m training in the gym and working out and fighting and doing everything I can to try and keep up. I’m doing hand-to-hand combat, Muay Thai and kung fu and learning how to take someone out quickly.”
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol opens December 2011.
