Christopher McQuarrie is wanted for Mission: Impossible 7, but he's undecided about returning to the director's chair

With Mission: Impossible – Fallout debuting to a franchise record opening as well as near-universally stellar reviews, it will come as absolutely no surprise to hear that Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise are already eyeing a seventh instalment in the spy series, nor will it come as a surprise that Fallout helmer Christopher McQuarrie is wanted for the director’s chair.

Speaking to the Empire Podcast, McQuarrie – who become the first director in the franchise’s history to return for a second outing after Rogue Nation – has revealed that both Paramount and Cruise have approached him about Mission: Impossible 7, although he’s reluctant to return given the incredible reception to Fallout.

“[Fallout editor] Eddie Hamilton, every day in the editing room was like, ‘Come on, man, it’s obviously a trilogy you’re coming back, you have to finish it, you didn’t kill Lane,’ and I was like, ‘It’s somebody else’s problem,’” said McQuarrie (via Collider). “Tom has asked, the studio has asked, and I was like, ‘You know maybe I’ve got an idea for…’ and then the reviews came out and I was like, ‘Get outta here. Just stop.’ I felt so bad for the director of Mission 6 and I feel even worse of the director of 7. I’d rather have leprosy than be in the position of the person having to confront the pressure of the hyperbole of this movie on their first day of shooting the film. It’s too much to confront. I’d need a long nap before I could contemplate it.”

Would you like to see Christopher McQuarrie returning for a third Mission: Impossible movie, and if not, which director(s) do you think would be a good fit for the seventh instalment? Let us know in the comments below…

The best intentions often come back to haunt you. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong. Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout sees Tom Cruise joined by returning stars Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris and Michelle Monaghan, along with new additions Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Sian Brooke (Sherlock), Angela Bassett (American Horror Story) and Vanessa Kirby (The Crown).