Glen Powell has responded to rumours about Tom Cruise wanting him to take over his role in the Mission: Impossible franchise, claiming he couldn’t replace the Top Gun star because his mother wouldn’t let him.
A report in trade publication The InSneider earlier this week said that Cruise wanted Powell to replace him in the forthcoming Mission: Impossible films.
ESPN commentator Pat McAfee called Powell on the 12 November broadcast of The Pat McAfee Show to “say congratulations, brother” if the rumours happened to be true.
“My mom would never let me do that,” Powell quipped immediately.
The Hit Man actor went on to say the Mission: Impossible franchise, with its incredible stunts that Cruise is known to do himself, was the “worst gig in town, everybody knows that”.
“That’s a death trap.”
Let's call Glen Powell...
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 12, 2024
We just wanted to say congratulations..
"It's been one hell of a College Football season"@glenpowell #PMSLive https://t.co/zLV5DBwhw2 pic.twitter.com/nfowrYfy9N
Before he hung up, Powell said he was filming Edgar Wright’s The Running Man, saying: “It’s gonna be sick!”
The trailer for the eighth instalment in the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, dropped recently.
Unveiling the film’s new title, along with a teaser trailer on social media, Cruise wrote: “Every choice has led to this.”
Despite the finality implied by the title as well as what he allegedly said about his replacement, Cruise has previously said he hopes to continue making Mission: Impossible films for decades.
Last year the action star compared the franchise to Indiana Jones and told The Sydney Morning Herald: “Harrison Ford is a legend. I hope to still be going. I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him.”
He continued: “I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”
Cruise and Powell starred alongside each other in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, after several pandemic-related delays.
Cruise, 62, played the lead character in 1986’s Top Gun and returned in 2022 for the sequel, a massively successful box office hit grossing $1.496bn worldwide. Powell played Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the sequel.
Fans were left delighted when Cruise showed up to support Powell at the London premiere of the latter’s film Twisters. Cruise shared a picture on social media with his arm around Powell, with the caption saying: “Fun night with friends, watching a movie!”
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is set to be released on 23 May 2025.
