Shea Whigham joins next two Mission: Impossible films
Writer/director Christopher McQuarrie took to Twitter to unveil a new casting addition for the next two installments in the blockbuster action franchise Mission: Impossible in the form of Boardwalk Empire and Joker star Shea Whigham!
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You won’t see him coming…#MI78 pic.twitter.com/B17enQCj3x
— Christopher McQuarrie (@chrismcquarrie) December 20, 2019
Whigham has been seen in a range of projects over the years from the high-profile HBO dramas Boardwalk Empire and True Detective to major films including Kong: Skull Island, Fast & Furious 6, Death Note, Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Bad Times at the El Royale. He will next be seen in HBO’s upcoming miniseries adaptation of Perry Mason.
In addition to star Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick), Pom Klementieff (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) and Haley Atwell (Avengers: Endgame), Whigham joins returning cast members Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Simon Pegg (Ready Player One) and Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction).
Following the large critical and commercial success of the past two installments, writer/director McQuarrie signed a new deal with Paramount to return to write and direct the next two installments, turning down other studio offers to continue his long-running partnership with franchise star Tom Cruise. Skydance Media, who joined the franchise with the fourth installment, Ghost Protocol, will be returning to produce the next two entries.
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The Mission: Impossible franchise spans almost 25 years and six films, starting off with modest critical and major box office success in the first two films before launching its lead protagonist into grittier and more explosive stories, each film getting progressively better reviews than its predecessor, with the most recent installment, Fallout, earning the highest reviews for both the franchise and the action genre, currently maintaining a 97% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes while also acquiring the highest box office gross of the franchise at over $790 million worldwide.
(Photo Credit: Backgrid Images)