Paramount Pictures on Tuesday said Tom Cruise will star in a new “Mission: Impossible” movie set for release in 2011 and produced by Cruise and J.J. Abrams. Cruise and Abrams last teamed up in 2006 for “Mission: Impossible III,” with Cruise in the role of super agent Ethan Hunt who battles bad guys and saves the world from evil. The first two “Mission: Impossible” movies made a combined $1 billion at global box offices. The third film's US box office reached $134 million and was considered a mild disappointment by box office watchers, even though it raked in another $264 million overseas proving Cruise's international appeal. Also, Cruise's public image had been tarnished the preceding year by his staunch defense of his beliefs in Scientology and by an incident in which he jumped on Oprah Winfrey's couch proclaiming his love for actress Katie Holmes. Following “Mission: Impossible III,” Paramount cut its film production ties with Cruise, and the making of a fourth film in the series has been a question ever since. But Tuesday, Paramount said Cruise and Abrams, who made this past summer's smash hit “Star Trek,” dreamed up an original idea for a fourth film and were back together again.
