It was really only a question of when. Once Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, the 4th installment in the Ethan Hunt-driven series, grossed $700 million worldwide, it was all but guaranteed that Paramount Pictures would produce a 5th installment.

Ghost Protocol Seems to Have Saved The M:I Franchise

After the underperformance of Mission: Impossible 3 a few years ago and the fact that he was nearing 50, there was speculation that Cruise would no longer be a part of the M:I series.

M:I 5: Trouble at The Retirement Village

But today the studio officially announced that Tom Cruise has signed on to reprise his role a 5th time- the first dating back to 1996′s Brian dePalma-directed Mission:Impossible.