Mission accomplished.
Tom Cruise went to great lengths to make sure he kept his starring role in 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” according to his co-star, Simon Pegg.
“I remember once when we were doing ‘Ghost Protocol,’ and Paramount were trying to position Jeremy Renner as a replacement for him in a way,” Pegg, 55, claimed on the Dec. 18 episode of Rob Lowe’s podcast, “Literally! with Rob Lowe.”
‘And Tom flew to LA from Vancouver and cornered [then-Paramount CEO] Brad Grey at a party and said, ‘No, that’s not happening,’” Pegg continued. “He brought in McQ [director Christopher McQuarrie], McQ rewrote the script, and Tom maintained his position.”
The Post has reached out to reps for Cruise, Renner and Paramount.
“Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” marked Cruise’s fourth stint as IMF agent Ethan Hunt.
Renner, 54, starred in the movie as William Brandt, the IMF Secretary’s aide and an intelligence analyst. He reprised the role in the fifth film, “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.”
Pegg has played Benji Dunn in six of the eight “Mission: Impossible” movies, including the latest installment, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” which came out May 2025.
On Lowe’s podcast, Pegg spoke about the power that Cruise has in Hollywood.
“He’s almost like a walking studio. He has more wherewithal than anybody in any position of power in the studio system because he’s been around longer,” the British actor said.
Lowe, 61, shared a story revealing Cruise’s massive influence in the industry.
“One of the heads of Paramount lives up by me, and we run into each other in the gym,” Lowe told Pegg. “While the last ‘Mission’ was going on, I’m like, ‘What’s going on with Mission? Can’t wait to see it.’ He goes, ‘I got a phone call from Tom today. He wants another $30 million…. We’ve already spent so much money, you literally cannot say no.’”
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” has been rumored to be Cruise’s last hurrah as Ethan Hunt.
When asked about his future with the franchise earlier this year, he turned the focus towards the film itself.
“I’d rather just people see it and enjoy and we’ve had an amazing time doing it and it’s been a lot of fun and I just want you all to enjoy it,” he said at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
“Enjoy this and know everything is the culmination has come to this moment right now,” Cruise added.
