Nicholas Hoult Joins Tom Cruise in Next ‘Mission: Impossible’

By Justin Kroll

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Nicholas Hoult has found his next mission. The actor will join Tom Cruise in the upcoming “Mission: Impossible” sequel, director Christopher McQuarrie confirmed on Instagram .

“Say, @nicholashoult, care to raise a little hell?” he wrote, to which Hoult responded, “Love to. Though why stop at a little?”

His exact role is unknown, but Hoult is expected to play a villain. Cruise is reprising his role as the globe-trotting secret agent Ethan Hunt in the seventh and eighth follow-ups. McQuarrie will write and direct both, which will be shot back-to-back.

Hoult was originally up for the role of Goose’s son in Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” due in theaters this summer. Though he didn’t get the part, he had a solid meeting with Cruise, which paved the way for them wanting to work together at some point.

Paramount and Skydance dated the seventh installment for July 23, 2021, while the eighth entry will be released on Aug. 5, 2022. Plot details are currently under wrap, but Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff have also joined the cast.

McQuarrie previously directed 2015’s “Rogue Nation” and 2018’s “Fallout,” the highest-grossing entry of the franchise with $791.1 million globally. The six films in the series have earned a combined $3.57 billion in worldwide box office. After years of switching up the filmmaker to give each chapter a new feel, Cruise and Paramount settled on McQuarrie as the primary director.

Hoult most recently reprised his role as Beast in “Dark Phoenix,” having appeared as the character in four “X-Men” films. His credits also include 2018’s black comedy “The Favourite,” 2015’s “Max Max: Fury Road” and last year’s biopic “Tolkien.”