While you’re gonna have to wait until March to see the sure-to-be fantastic Simon Pegg/Nick Frost starrer Paul, we’ve got some pictures of Pegg, Tom Cruise, and Paula Patton on the set of the next Mission: Impossible film to tide you over. Directed by the superb Brad Bird (The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, Ratatoullie), Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is the fourth entry in the popular franchise that’s been spearheaded by Cruise since the first film back in 1996. Bird has assembled a highly impressive cast that includes Cruise, Pegg, Patton, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Josh Holloway (Lost), Anil Kapoor (Slumdog Millionaire), Léa Seydoux (Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood), and Vladimir Mashkov (The Thief). If that wasn’t enough, Michael Giacchino is also doing the score.

We previously brought you some pictures of Holloway on set, as well as Cruise doing some insane stunt work off the side of one of the tallest buildings in the world. While these pictures lack death-defying stunts, they include Simon Pegg, who is just about as awesome as they come. Needless to say, if I had you at “Simon Pegg” (which, let’s face it, I probably did), hit the jump to check out the pictures:

Personally, I’m really excited about this flick. The choice of Brad Bird as the director (in his first live-action feature, no less) has me over the moon, and the cast he’s put together is fantastic. There’s still no word on the plot of the film, but it’s been said that the film is a reboot of sorts and that Jeremy Renner is being set up to carry future installments of the franchise alone. Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol will hit theaters on December 16th, 2011.

(via Accidental Sexiness)