‘Mission: Impossible 7’ Director Considered Opening with a De-Aged Tom Cruise

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One almost had a different beginning, featuring a much younger Tom Cruise.

Speaking with GamesRadar+ and Total Film on Wednesday, director Christopher McQuarrie said he nixed an idea to de-age the franchise's star in fear that it may be too distracting for viewers.

"Originally, there had been a whole sequence at the beginning of the movie that was going to take place in 1989," McQuarrie told the outlet. "We talked about it as a cold open, we talked about it as flashbacks in the movie, we looked at de-aging."

"One of the big things about [the de-aging] I was looking at while researching, I kept saying, 'Boy, this de-aging is really good' or 'This de-aging is not so good,'" McQuarrie added. "Never did I find myself actually following the story … I was so distracted by an actor that I had known for however long was now suddenly this young person."

Though the famed director didn't use the method in the latest installment of M:I, he said he's more comfortable with the idea and might consider using it for future films.

"In researching that, I cracked the code, I think, on how best to approach it," McQuarrie said. "By then, we had kind of moved away from it. We may still play with it. We never say never."

McQuarrie, who has directed all seven of the franchise's films, previously opened up about the challenges faced by the cast and crew while making the latest installment — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After The Sun newspaper released audio of Cruise seemingly scolding crew members for breaking COVID protocols on set in December 2020, McQuarrie was quick to come to the actor's defense.

"We were fighting to keep the industry alive, we were fighting to keep people employed, we were fighting for the studio, we were fighting for cinemas, and we still are," he told Entertainment Weekly in May. "I'm just glad people understood the intention behind it."

Despite the challenges, McQuarrie hinted that he and Cruise might have another Ethan Hunt movie in them: "Look, we're still shooting eight and there's any number of ways that that story could play out."

Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters nationwide.