"Mission: Impossible IV," which once seemed truly impossible, is taking shape at Paramount.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have agreed to co-produce the sequel, which is aimed at a 2011 release.

The return of Cruise to Par itself is surprising in view of the circumstances surrounding his departure in August 2006. Apparently irked by the heft of Cruise’s deal, among other issues, Viacom chief Sumner Redstone abruptly terminated the 14-year relationship between the star and the studio. Cruise’s then-CAA agent, Rick Nicita, termed Redstone’s decision “shockingly offensive and graceless.”

The rift led to Cruise becoming the chief of United Artists and taking a more active role in production decisions. Redstone, meanwhile, has sought to heal the relationship. At a recent appearance, he described the star as “a great actor and a good friend.”

The “Mission” installment would augment Paramount’s formidable array of sequels, which will include “Star Trek 2” and a third “Transformers.”

Work on “Mission: Impossible IV” would inevitably be delayed by the busy schedules of the participants.

Abrams will be responsible for guiding the “Star Trek” sequel, while Cruise recently committed to an untitled pic (formerly called “Wichita”) for 20th Century Fox that will be directed by James Mangold and co-star Cameron Diaz.

Cruise and Denzel Washington are also awaiting a rewrite on the David Cronenberg-directed “The Matarese Circle,” the MGM thriller based on the Robert Ludlum novel.

Paramount Pictures and producers Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have officially lit the fuse on "Mission: Impossible IV," setting Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec to write the screenplay.
While those scribes aren’t big feature names yet, they join a roster of writers who transitioned from Abrams TV series creations to pen the features he directs and produces through his Bad Robot banner.

Applebaum and Nemec spent four seasons with Abrams as co-exec producers of "Alias," and they will script "M:I 4" based on a story Abrams wrote with them.

While the only other commitments so far are for Cruise and Abrams to produce the film together, sources said that Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt, will certainly be involved in an onscreen capacity. Pic is aimed for a 2011 release.

Applebaum and Nemec are the creators of the new ABC series "Happy Town" and previously created "October Road" and the U.S. version of "Life on Mars" for ABC.

"I’ve been looking forward to working with Josh and Andre again for years," Abrams said. "Their sense of balance between character and action is wonderful, which I know is hugely important to Tom as well. We’re off to an exciting start, so, as usual, fingers crossed."

Among other topnotchfeature scribes who emerged from Bad Robot TV series are Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who were writers and co-exec producers on "Alias" before teaming with Abrams to script his feature directorial debut, "Mission: Impossible III." The duo wrote "Star Trek" and continue to collaborate with Abrams on "Fringe." Drew Goddard, who penned the Abrams-produced "Cloverfield," also came from "Alias" as a writer/co-producer, and he is a writer and co-exec producer on "Lost." "Cloverfield" director Matt Reeves was writer and exec producer on "Felicity," which Abrams exec produced.