By Back in Summer 2022, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie and actor/producer Tom Cruise were working on the two “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” films, the second of which is still ongoing at this time.
Appearing on the Light the Fuse podcast at the time, McQuarrie revealed he and Cruise were considering another film together – something “gnarlier” that is “way outside of what you’re used to seeing Tom do” but is little bit more in McQuarrie’s wheelhouse.
The suggestion sounded something akin to moments within the first “Jack Reacher” film in 2012 which saw Cruise play a harder edge character than we’re used to see him playing in his action films.
Now, scooper MyTimeToShineHello (via World of Reel) claims to have learned what the film is. Their report indicates it is a remake of the 1977 Clint Eastwood thriller “The Gauntlet” and they add that Scarlett Johansson is being sought to co-star with Cruise.
The original Eastwood film had the actor playing an alcoholic cop tasked with escorting a prostitute from Las Vegas to Phoenix to testify against the mob. Plans soon fall apart as cops and lawyers are also involved in the plot to kill them both.
Both Johansson and Cruise have spoken highly of each other and last year both spoke of their desire to work together in a project. Cruise signed a major deal with Warners earlier this year, making such a remake possible.
Neither the trades or the studio have confirmed the rumor as yet, but a second scooper, the more reliable Empire City, confirms the project and suggests it’s targeting an early 2025 filming start.
Cruise is already signed on for the next Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu film and is expected to continue to work on the eighth “Mission: Impossible” ahead of its release May 2025.
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