There are a lot of Mission: Impossible movies, but some diehard fans of the spy series don’t known about the many unmade Mission: Impossible films. Although Christopher McQuarrie has directed every Mission: Impossible movie since the fifth entry, the movie series was originally envisioned as a directorial showcase. Becuase of this, a variety of directors have been attached to the various Mission: Impossible movies, meaning that there are all kinds of different sequels that didn’t see the light. So, here are some of the most notable Mission: Impossible movies that never got released.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is almost here, continuing the epic AI story from 2023’s Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, it is expected that the film will be Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt, something that the marketing has heavily leaned into. Although Mission: Impossible could continue without him, Tom Cruise’s celebrity status and stunts have defined the franchise since his involvement began. Thus, it is interesting to learn that Tom Cruise was almost involved with several unmade Mission: Impossible movies.

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Oliver Stone’s Mission: Impossible II

Ethan Hunt Fights A Villainous Supercomputer

The first Mission: Impossible was a huge success and a great start to the movie series, meaning that a sequel was in order. However, the sequel would come with a major change in the form of its director. Brian De Palma directed the first Mission: Impossible movie, but he decided not to return for the sequel. Thus, the team behind the franchise decided that Mission: Impossible would work well as a directorial showcase, with each film bringing on a talented new filmmaker to show what makes them unique.

Thus, Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July director Oliver Stone was brought on for the second movie. The script for Stone’s version was written by David Marconi, and it followed Ethan Hunt and the IMF as they took on a villainous supercomputer. The film would have opened with Ethan heading to Vietnam, with him spending the rest of the movie fighting human villains who are in league with the supercomputer. However, the computer eventually begins to manipulate Ethan, with it creating hallucinations and even pretending to be IMF agents (via No Film School).

The plot of Oliver Stone’s Mission: Impossible II may sound familiar, as it isn’t that far off from the Enтιтy storyline from Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One. At the time, however, it isn’t the direction that Mission: Impossible wanted to go. The film was too philosophical, with Ethan Hunt at one point going into a simulated Garden of Eden. It strayed too far from the action-focused first film, with it needing to be more in-line with its predecessor. Thus, Oliver Stone left the project and was replaced by John Woo, who directed the final Mission: Impossible 2.

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Ben Trebilcook’s Mission: Impossible III

It Was Too Close To 9/11

Another Mission: Impossible film that never made it past the script stage was written by Ben Trebilcook. Trebilcook tells the story of his ill-fated film in EsSєx Film Collective blog post, discussing his time as a screenwriter in the late 1990s. According to Trebilcook, he got the attention of Cruise/Wagner Productions, who asked him if he had anything that would fit Tom Cruise. So, Trebilcook took an old action screenplay of his and retrofitted it to be a third Mission: Impossible movie.

Then, the 9/11 attack happened. Trebilcook says that one scene in his film was reminiscent of the real-life attack. This and Hollywood’s distaste for big action movies at the time led to his script being shelved. Thus, Mission: Impossible III had to turn elsewhere for its story.

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David Fincher’s Mission: Impossible III

A Gritty Take On Mission: Impossible

With the first two films, Brian De Palma and John Woo had established a trend of Mission: Impossible movies being full of action and style, a formula that Mission: Impossible III wanted to keep. Thus, the third film brought on another acclaimed filmmaker in the form of David Fincher, the director behind movies like Se7en and Fight Club. Fincher joined the project in 2002, with his Mission: Impossible III being slated for a 2004 release.

Less is known about Fincher’s unmade Mission: Impossible movie than Oliver Stone’s. However, it is known that Fincher went with a much darker and more grounded script, which isn’t surprising considering Fincher’s filmography. The film was seemingly nothing like the final version of Mission: Impossible III, with it focusing on the organ trade in Africa. The studo wasn’t wild about this jarringly different take on Mission: Impossible, with it straying away from the stylized action of its predecessors.

Tom Cruise has actually spoken on David Fincher’s canceled Mission: Impossible movie, giving some more insight as to why it wasn’t made. According to Cruise, the film was pᴀssed on because they knew it wouldn’t live up to audience expectations. Audience members had come to expect a certain style for Mission: Impossible, and Fincher would not have delivered on this. Thus, J.J. Abrams was brought on to direct the final version of Mission: Impossible III, delivering on that flashier version of the franchise.

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Joe Carnahan’s Mission: Impossible III

A Mission: Impossible Set In Africa

David Fincher wasn’t the only filmmaker attached to Mission: Impossible III who ended up having his version of the project scrapped. After the release of Narc, Tom Cruise brought Joe Carnahan on to helm the third Mission: Impossible movie, hoping that he would offer what the franchise was looking for. Alongside Nightcrawler writer Dan Gilroy, Carnahan pitched a version of the movie that was less gritty than Fincher’s version but less goofy than Mission: Impossible II, with Carnahan describing his film as “punk rock.”

Much like Fincher’s version, Carnahan’s Mission: Impossible III centered on Africa, with the film focusing on its militarization. The villain was described as being inspired by Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City Bomber, although very few story details have been revealed beyond this. Carnahan has explained that the film he wrote was much smaller scale than previous Mission: Impossible movies, which was more in-line with his previous works.

However, this isn’t what Paramount wanted either. They wanted the film to be a bigger blockbuster, leading to the studio bringing Robert Towne on to rewrite the script. The rewrite successfully made the film a blockbuster, but it isn’t what Carnahan wanted. Carnahan has expressed that the revised script was too similar to Mission: Impossible II, causing him to exit the project (via Collider).

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Edgar Wright’s Mission: Impossible IV

The Most Mysterious Unmade Mission: Impossible

The most mysterious of the unmade Mission: Impossible movies is Edgar Wright’s take on Mission: Impossible IV. J.J. Abrams declined to return after Mission: Impossible III, sending the franchise hunting for a director once again. In 2010, Edgar Wright was chosen, with him joining the project. Andre Nemec and Josh Appelbaum wrote the screenplay for the film, with it set to move ahead.

For unknown reasons, Edgar Wright eventually left the project. Brad Bird eventually took over, although Nemec and Appelbaum stayed on as screenwriters. It isn’t known how close Wright’s version would have been to the final Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, although it would have undoubtedly had some different directorial choices. However, it would still be interesting to see the Shaun of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ director’s take on Mission: Impossible.

Sources: Collider, EsSєx Film Collective, No Film School