Tom Cruise is one of the biggest stars in the world, with two enormous franchises sitting squarely on his shoulders, although both Top Gun and Mission: Impossible need to look for ways to survive without him. While the ending of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning left things open enough, with the potential for Cruise to return in another sequel, at some point the franchise will need to hand the reins to another performer. For Top Gun, this will not be especially difficult. For Mission: Impossible, it is much harder to determine the right path forward.

Cruise is not the easiest star to work with. Director Joseph Kosinski commented about the challenges of having Cruise in F1, highlighting the complexities that the actor brings with him. While the best stunts in Mission: Impossible show how effective Cruise’s pᴀssion for realizing practical effects can be, the outsized budgets and long production periods on his films have proven stressful for many directors involved. With that said, there will soon come a time for Mission: Impossible and Top Gun to try to move on without him, and that may be sooner than expected.

Top Gun Already Has A Great Tom Cruise Replacement

Top Gun 3 Could Focus On Glen Powell’s Hangman

Glen Powell is becoming one of the strongest leading men in Hollywood, and the actor could easily take over the Top Gun franchise. Famously, after Powell auditioned for Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick but did not get the role, Cruise liked him so much that he had the Maverick script changed to add more Hangman. Hangman became one of the most compelling characters in the film, stealing every scene that he appeared in thanks to Powell’s magnetic charisma.

There are all kinds of great performers who joined the franchise in Maverick, and a number of them could join the cast of Top Gun 3, including Miles Teller. With so many performers who have risen in fame since the release of Maverick, the franchise could work as an ensemble without Cruise, especially if Powell was among the cast. Lewis Pullman’s Bob from Maverick could be an appealing part of Top Gun 3, especially after the actor played another Bob in Thunderbolts*, and other performers, including Monica Barbaro and Greg Tarzan Davis, would be great components of the extended cast.

Mission: Impossible Doesn’t Have A Tom Cruise Replacement

The Cast Of The Series Is Very Strong, But Audiences Mostly See Mission: Impossible For Cruise

Several actors who could take over the main role in the Mission: Impossible series have already been established, but each comes with a significant challenge. With the new team set up at the end of The Final Reckoning, Pom Klementieff’s Paris could be an interesting new lead, or Hayley Atwell’s Grace. Davis also has great star potential in Mission: Impossible, and his character Theo Degas could be an interesting one to follow. However, after the cost and performance of The Final Reckoning, these stars headlining would feel like a step down.

The box office for The Final Reckoning has struggled even with Cruise, and making a sequel without him would need another big star in his place. Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt was an important part of the Mission: Impossible cast and was at one point set to take over the franchise, but while excellent, he may not be enough of a financial draw at this point. In order to proceed, the series would need to bring in a new performer who at least had the potential to match Cruise’s star power, which is a Herculean task.

Mission: Impossible, Not Top Gun, Is Tom Cruise’s Defining Franchise

Top Gun Is Less Dependent On Cruise’s Star Power

Mission: Impossible is hard to imagine without Tom Cruise. While the Mission: Impossible movies were based on a television series from 1966, the movie franchise has transformed into an outlet for Cruise’s love of stunts. Every movie in the franchise is directly focused on Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, and the franchise has reached its apex with the behind-the-scenes collaborations between Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie. This is not an easy process, as was discussed in GQ, with McQuarrie, who has collaborated with Cruise on almost every one of his movies since Valkyrie, saying:

If you want to know why I’m working for Tom for 18 years and other people aren’t… lots of directors will do that once. They don’t ever want to f***ing do that again.

What works about the Mission: Impossible franchise has been dependent on Cruise’s pᴀssion for challenging, practical filmmaking. It is hard to imagine the series without that, making it difficult to envision any future installments without Cruise. Meanwhile, Top Gun: Maverick followed up on a 1980s cult hit with an exciting cast of characters, and is early enough in its series to define itself apart from Cruise. That series could certainly pᴀss the torch, and find an interesting direction forward.

Which Actors Could Take Over Mission: Impossible From Tom Cruise?

There Are Several Actors That Might Fit The Franchise

In order to survive without Cruise, the Mission: Impossible franchise will need to redefine itself. It is unclear exactly what that looks like, and it could come with a new tone. Cruise is a very unique performer in Hollywood, and it is important that whoever headlines the new version of this series has some star power, as well as the ability to do their own stunts. While performers like Jason Statham and Keanu Reeves might be too old to take over the franchise, there are some interesting choices that could work.

Powell, if not in Top Gun 3, could be a contender. Scarlett Johansson is leading the new Jurᴀssic World Rebirth, but Mission: Impossible would also be a franchise where her strong ability as an actor might be a good fit. If none of these, there are many other up-and-coming actors who might suit the material. Someone like One Piece‘s Mackenyu could be an excellent fit due to his experience with stunts. Alternatively, Monica Barbaro has proven herself an action star on Netflix’s FUBAR and also has the dramatic chops to elevate the material she’s given.

It’s Better If Another Mission: Impossible Doesn’t Happen, With Or Without Cruise

The Right Path Forward Might Be To Leave The Franchise Alone

Mission: Impossible has become a vehicle for Cruise to show off some of the best stunts in Hollywood, and the series has run its course. The Final Reckoning did a great job ending the franchise with some of the biggest stunts yet, and it is hard to imagine any follow-up living up to that which has already been seen. Cruise has enough movies in development that will show different sides of the actor, and that is probably the right call for him at this time. This should be the place to leave the franchise, at least for some time.

Paramount will almost certainly attempt to capitalize further on the brand of Mission: Impossible, either with a new cast, or with Cruise returning, but this will hopefully not occur for some time. There are ways to make good new films based on the series, but in order to do so, the franchise will need to go back to its roots, bringing in unique directors like John Woo and Brad Bird, with different visions for each installment. Hopefully Mission: Impossible can rest for at least a little while, before inevitably being brought back to the multiplex.