No Paula Patton? Rebecca Ferguson Takes Female Lead in 'Mission: Impossible 5'

She may have earned a Golden Globe nomination for playing Elizabeth Woodville in Starz' The White Queen, but Swedish actress Rebecca Ferguson is still an unknown quantity to most. That's all about to change now as she's just landed the female lead opposite Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible 5. So what's up? No Paula Patton?

Well, no, probably not. Not for any particular reason, it's just the Mission: Impossible franchise has always been quick to give Cruise some new eye candy. Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Thandie Newton, Kristin Scott Thomas,  and Emmanuelle Béart have gone on missions with Cruise up to this point and now Ferguson will get her shot. No word on her role but she'll be joining Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, and possibly Alec Baldwin in the film that Christopher McQuarrie is directing with filming to begin next month.

Ferguson is definitely on the rise and she'll be seen next in Hercules opposite Dwayne Johnson. Mission: Impossible 5 opens Christmas 2015. [Deadline]