#Impossible — Ghost Protocol’s Biggest Stunt Was Its Massive Success

One of the biggest lessons for me here is that Paramount made a reasonable bet here. Yes, big movie star and established franchise (especially a decade ago before streaming took hold) was a safe bet at the box office, but the studio didn’t let things get out of hand. This movie was made for $145 million, and yes, that is a big budget, but it’s not overly inflated. It’s actually $5 million less than the reported budget for “Mission: Impossible III.” Set yourself up to succeed.

Beyond that, I think the idea of not fixing what isn’t broken was incredibly wise. It would have been easy to look at what “MI3” did at the box office and pivot. Instead, they kind of doubled down on what worked and didn’t force anything. They brought in the right guy to right the ship during production when things weren’t working, but ultimately stayed the course. Clearly, that paid off.

Also of note, the “Mission: Impossible” movies to this day are not overly married to continuity. That can be a killer in some cases. For as much as the Marvel Cinematic Universe works, it can be a lot of homework. Even the Daniel Craig “Bond” movies were a little too interconnected for their own good at times (looking at you, “Spectre”). With “Ghost Protocol,” an audience member who had never seen one of these movies could have easily understood what was going on and just go on the ride. Fortunately, even though “Fallout” had a lot of ties to previous movies, the franchise has kept that up.

Lastly, to the idea that recognizing a good thing is a smart way to go, Paramount recognized that McQuarrie had a magic touch. Ultimately, he was brought on board to direct “Rogue Nation” and “Fallout,” both of which were gangbusters big hits. And he has also worked with Cruise on “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Jack Reacher,” and the upcoming “Top Gun: Maverick.” Plus, he’s directing both “Mission: Impossible 7” and “8.” It is one of the single most reliable relationships in Hollywood, and it largely blossomed as a result of some uncredited rewrites. That’s a hell of a thing.