(Photo Credit: Paramount)
Despite Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning being billed as the last installment in the film franchise, a new rumor is claiming that Tom Cruise has begun working on a ninth movie with a former Marvel Cinematic Universe director.
Which Marvel director was sought out by Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible 9?
DeuxMoi, a pseudonymous Instagram account that publishes celebrity gossip, recently posted an email that “was submitted anonymously and can not be verified,” which claims that “Chloe Zhao is in talks to write/direct [Mission: Impossible 9]. Tom sought her out, they’ve workshopped a treatment, script is underway.”
Check out the Instagram post below:
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Zhao is the Oscar-winning director behind Marvel Studios’ Eternals. The 2021 superhero film, released during Phase 4 of the MCU, focuses on the titular immortal beings as they emerge from hiding after thousands of years to protect Earth from their ancient counterparts, the Deviants.
Eternals was the rare big-budget blockbuster movie for Zhao, who has typically directed more smaller-budgeted, award-worthy fare like her debut Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), The Rider (2017), Nomadland (2020), and Hamnet (2025).
However, she recently directed the pilot for the Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series, which is in development at Hulu. This seems to confirm that she is open to working with popular IPs like Mission: Impossible.
Of course, readers should take this Mission: Impossible 9 rumor with a grain of salt, since DeuxMoi stated it was unable to verify the source. Still, the idea of Zhao directing the next Mission: Impossible movie is tantalizing, especially since Eternals boasted some visually stunning action sequences, such as Mikkari fighting Ikaris.
If the Mission: Impossible 9 rumor does prove to be true, Zhao would become the first new director to helm an entry in the franchise since 2015. It would also mark a return to form for the franchise, which, until 2018, had become somewhat known for bringing on a new director for each movie.
Brian De Palma, John Woo, J. J. Abrams, and Brad Bird all left their distinct directorial style on the franchise before Christopher McQuarrie took over the series beginning with 2015’s Rogue Nation. When he signed on to return for 2018’s Fallout, he became the first director to helm two entries in the franchise. McQuarrie would ultimately go on to direct an additional two — 2023’s Dead Reckoning and 2025’s The Final Reckoning.
The Mission: Impossible franchise is available to stream on Paramount+.
