It's been a slow trickle thus far for the tidbits about Mission Impossible 6, the hotly anticipated second installment of the storied franchise to be directed by Christopher McQuarrie. It seems like barely 24 hours ago since we got our first look at Superman himself Henry Cavill with McQuarrie and franchise star Tom Cruise on the set with what looks like one heck of a mustache. Though there's not much known about what the movie will entail on the whole but then, with the exception of the last installment, the plot of the movie has never mattered. The introduction of The Syndicate is somewhat major but otherwise, just point me at which grotesquely large monument to capitalism that Mr. Cruise will be infiltrating and jumping off of next, if you please.
The next chapter in the Ethan Hunt saga has one major thing going for it beyond Cruise's physical daring and charisma, and that is its cast. Simon Pegg is returning, as is Rogue Nation breakout Rebecca Ferguson, on top of the already mentioned Cavill and Cruise. Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Ving Rhames, and Michelle Monaghan will also be coming back, along with new additions such as Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby. and Sian Brooke. That's a lot of talent for what amounts to a series of fights, chases, stunts, and parlor scenes, and that's nearly as many women as men in the announced lead cast.
And to his credit, McQuarrie, a great writer and promising director, seems to be very proud that his movie is stacked like this. Yesterday, he took to Twitter to post a new image of four of the five aforementioned actresses, seemingly in character roles from MI6, with Bassett, Ferguson, Kirby, and Monaghan grouped together amongst what looks like desert rocks. This is are first official-ish looks at Kirby and Bassett in the movie, though we still do not know too much about either characters. McQuarrie gave a few details recently about Kirby's character, but the project and its menagerie of spies and spy hunters remains largely a mystery. I hope that continues at least until we get a teaser trailer, as this is one of the rare cases where the franchise has been consistent about hiring excellent visual directors to helm each installment. It will be hard to top Brian De Palma's superb original or, for that matter, Brad Bird's sensational Ghost Protocol, but with McQuarrie working with the hugely talented DP Rob Hardy, he of Ex Machina, The Forgiveness of Blood, and Boy A, you never can tell. What's made certain in this image, which you can take a look at below, is that the movie will boast enough smart women kicking proverbial (or very real) ass on screen to make Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot proud.
