MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4 Update

Lots of Mission Impossible 4news out there all of a sudden, and I can only assume it has to do with all the buzz around JJ Abrams' Super 8 project, since he is also co-producer on MI:4. Yesterday, Paramount announced that the latest adventure of superspy Ethan Hunt has been pushed back to December 16th, 2011. The original release date of May 27, 2011 is now officially open but there is speculation that Super 8 will fill that slot soon.

Sinct Tom Cruise and Abrams' involvement was never in doubt, the only question that remained was who would direct? There had been discussions with both Edgar Wright(Shaun of the Dead) and Brad Bird(The Iron Giant), but in a recent conversation with Empire Online, Cruise put any questions to rest...

“I dig Edgar. Very nice guy, very smart, very talented, I’d really like to do something with him,” said Cruise, talking to Empire recently in Los Angeles. “I met Edgar on the set of Mission 3. Simon Pegg and those guys are hilarious. I love Shaun Of The Dead. It’s amazing. But we’re working with Brad right now. I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about it but everything’s signed... Brad is doing it.”

This'll be Bird's first time directing a live-action feature after having spent the entirety of his career working on animation. He first came to fame in 1999 with his wonderful The Iron Giant(still my favorite film of his), before heading to Pixar and helming both The Incredibles and 2007's Ratatouille.