While the entire Mission Impossible series is a major win, John Woo’s 2000’s Mission: Impossible II is a film that couldn’t seem to hit the mark. Following the release of Mission: Impossible, Cruise struggled to find the right story and director to continue the franchise for the third installment.
But in 2004, Mission: Impossible III got on track when it was announced that J.J. Abrams would take over as the director of the threequel. No doubt, Abrams’s Mission: Impossible III saved the franchise and he gave all the credit to the leading producer and actor of the film — Tom Cruise.
J.J. Abrams Gives Credits to Tom Cruise for the Success of Mission: Impossible III
Abrams shared his experience working with Tom Cruise on the film, praising the actor for his role in his successful directorial debut. J.J. Abrams was previously known for TV work and made his feature directorial debut with Mission: Impossible III. This marked a significant step into a major franchise for Abrams as a first-time director.
In a behind-the-scenes video, director J.J. Abrams discussed the challenges associated with the movie and highlighted the influence of Tom Cruise’s commitment.
“Mission: Impossible 3′ was the first movie that I directed, and it was because Tom gave me the shot,” Abrams said, adding: “And I didn’t know what I was getting into, and people warned me, ‘Oh, the movie star is the producer, that could be a real problem.”
The director said that Cruise was much acquainted with the process of film-making and knew how to produce the best outcome:
“Look, I’m no filmmaker, but I know that if my first job involved working with Tommy Cruise, I’d be a little nervous. As it turns out, though, there was nothing to worry about. It could not have been less of a problem,” Abrams said, adding:
“Tom was as aware of the process of making the movie, of what it needed, as anyone I could’ve imagined. Every day I felt that he and I were in the trenches together in this incredible way where we were both sort of pulling each other up this mountain, and he wasn’t a movie star looking to do a vanity project. He was an incredibly focused, dedicated producer who also happened to be starring in the movie.”
The series is mainly led by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF).
Scarlett Johansson and Kenneth Branagh were Kicked Out of Mission: Impossible III
Tom Cruise started the Mission: Impossible franchise in 1996, which was his first venture as a producer. He was serious about kicking off this franchise and enlisted director Brian De Palma to turn the TV series into a film. Despite challenges during production, the first movie turned out to be a huge success.
For Mission: Impossible II, Cruise hired director John Woo to take the series in a different visual direction. That also resulted in a blockbuster hit, outgrossing the original by $100 million, with a worldwide total of $546.4 million.
Before J.J. Abrams took the lead for the third movie, Joe Carnahan had almost directed MI 3. Although big names, including Scarlett Johansson, Kenneth Branagh, and Carnahan, departed due to scheduling conflicts, Abrams brought his vision to this action franchise.
Despite this, the movie turned out well! Even Phillip Seymour Hoffman replaced Branagh as the main antagonist, acclaimed as the best villain in the franchise. The film’s success continued the franchise, and Abrams directed to continue more blockbusters like Star Wars, all sheer thanks goes to Tom Cruise’s dedication.
Source: Slash Film
