Mission: Impossible 9 Looks More Likely After Tom Cruise's Space Movie Was Scrapped

For all intents and purposes, Tom Cruise's extraordinary run as Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible franchise came to an end last year. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning was billed as the last time he'd star in the action franchise. The thrill-seeking star spent the years prior lining up other projects to help him move on from his most lucrative series, which amassed $4.7 billion at the box office.

Still, The Final Reckoning's ending did not completely close the door on another adventure. Ethan is still alive, and while he walks away from the IMF to become the guardian of The Entity, there is certainly room for Cruise to return for Mission: Impossible 9. He's previously expressed interest in starring in the franchise for as long as Harrison Ford did for Indiana Jones.

While there are no official plans for Mission: Impossible 9 right now, that could change quickly. Cruise's plan to branch out from his world-saving ways hasn't gone exactly as planned.

Tom Cruise's Ambitious Space Movie Was Cancelled

Cruise lined up various movies to shape a post-Mission: Impossible career in the last few years, such as his upcoming comedy/drama Digger, directed by Academy Award winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu. More projects with his Mission collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie, are also in the works. But one of his most ambitious plans was a space movie.

Originally announced in 2020, Cruise planned to be at the center of Hollywood's first feature film to actually shoot scenes in space. NASA and SpaceX were both linked to the project upon the announcement. Cruise also recruited Doug Liman to direct, reuniting them after Edge of Tomorrow and American Made. Due to the technological and logistical challenges, the development continuing into 2025 was no surprise.

Yet, it was announced at the end of the year that its no longer happening. Cruise's space movie was cancelled because he refused to ask President Donald Trump for a favor that would move the project forward. This came after it was revealed that Liman and Cruise's underwater supernatural film, Deeper, co-starring Ana de Armas, was also facing development issues due to budgeting; it's yet to find a new home away from Warner Bros.

As a result, Cruise has seen two projects intended to be part of a new era of his career fall apart. With no definitive progress made on other projects, this could leave the A-list action star circling back to his biggest franchises once more.

Mission: Impossible 9 Or Top Gun 3 Could Become Priorities

This is where Mission: Impossible 9 could come into the equation. Rather than continuing to develop high-budget, original action films that then don't get made, Cruise's involvement in established IPs could once again be viewed as vehicles to keep him at the center of showbusiness.

Paramount is now under new leadership with CEO David Ellison, and one of his priorities so far has been doubling down on franchises. That strategy has yet to directly involve Mission: Impossible, but it would make sense for Paramount's new CEO to want to keep one of its highest-grossing series going.

Cruise reportedly had a falling out with Ellison in 2021 over the budgets of the last two Mission movies, but it's now been said that they've patched things up to the point where the star visited Paramount's chief in 2025 (via THR). It's possible the two discussed the potential for Mission: Impossible 9 happening in the next few years here.

The other option, though, is that this meeting was tied to getting things moving on Top Gun 3. That's also a Paramount franchise and has been much more successful recently than Mission: Impossible. If Cruise is going to turn to a franchise play after the space movie's collapse, Top Gun 3 should be a much bigger priority than Mission: Impossible 9.