Tom Cruise signs on for Mission: Impossible 5

This won't come as much of a surprise considering the previous instalment Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol pulled in almost $700 million at the global box office (a record for the star), but Deadline has revealed that actor Tom Cruise has signed on to reprise the role of super spy Ethan Hunt for a fifth entry in the Mission: Impossible series.

In addition to starring, The Cruiser will once again serve as producer on Mission: Impossible 5, and while no official announcement has been made about a director, it's thought that Cruise could reunite with Jack Reacher helmer Christopher McQuarrie, the Academy Award-winning screenwriter behind The Usual Suspects and the upcoming X-Men solo sequel The Wolverine.

Mission: Impossible 5 will be co-financed by Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions, with J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot handling production duties. A release date is yet to be announced.