Brad Bird takes Mission Impossible

It was announced earlier today that Mission Impossible IV was moving dates to December 16th 2011, now comes news direct from Tom Cruise via Empire, that Brad Bird is definitely directing the 4th installment in the franchise.

 Since Tom Cruise decided to accept another fiendishly-difficult-but-let’s-face-it-not-quite-Impossible-or-there-would-be-no-movie Mission, there’s been speculation as to who would direct the fourth outing in his spy series.

Rumour suggested Brad Bird... Well, it's no longer rumour: it’s Brad Bird.

As previously reported, Cruise – who is producing with part three’s creator, JJ Abrams – was considering both Bird and Blighty’s own Edgar Wright, but Mission: Impossible IV is officially going to The Incredibles writer/director.

Wright, who is still tied up with post-production on his hotly anticipated comic-book adaptation Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, is still on Cruise’s must-work-with list, though.

“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.”

The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Ratatouille – Brad is enormously talented and JJ and I are having a blast, cranking away,” Cruise continued. “We’re having a lot of fun. I like working with people I just love hanging out with. You get to hang out and laugh and talk stories and movies and technology: what are we going to do?”

Bird is a great stryteller with an exuberant imagination, this of course will be his first live action outing however I have faith he will knock it out of the park.