It’s a good time to be a spy, as both premiere espionage experts from either side of the pond seem to be at the top of their game. Be it Bond or Hunt, people are loving the drama and spectacle of clandestine world-saving, and it’s attracting some of the best filmmakers around. And while Ghost Protocol in particular marked the bombastic entry of Brad Bird into live action and rejuvinated the franchise with a $700m worldwide haul, it’s not a franchise that hangs on to directors and thus another must step into the directing chair.

Well, Tom Cruise knows a guy.

If you look at the pattern of Cruise’s work in the last year and a half, the answer should have been all too clear. Christopher McQuarrie is all over Cruise’s recent projects, with The Usual Suspects writer having done drafts or rewrites on everything from Top Gun 2 to All You Need Is Kill (you know, the Groundhog Day-esque mech suit movie). He also lent his hand without credit to the Ghost Protocol script, so he’s not new to world of Ethan Hunt. Finally, and what I suppose qualifies him for the director’s chair in Cruise and Paramount’s mind, is that he’s been putting camera to action for Jack Reacher. Mediocre as that flick looks at first glance, everybody behind the scenes must be happy.

We’ll get a better idea of McQuarrie’s action filmmaking chops come December 21st when Jack Reacher opens in theaters. Until then the job offering will likely remain unofficial as a writer is hired and Cruise/Abrams figure out their approach to topping the spectacle of Ghost Protocol.

Nobody’s built a bigger, taller building yet, have they?

Source | Deadline