Looks like the rumors were true — the usually reliable Vulture blog have suggested that “The Incredibles” director Brad Bird is very close to signing on to helm “Mission Impossible IV.” It was reported a few weeks ago that Bird was the front-runner in a pool that included Edgar Wright and Ruben Fleischer, and with Wright still deep in post-production on “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World,” and Fleischer officially boarding the comedy “30 Minutes or Less,” Bird’s firmed up his position at the head of the pack.
Vulture says that the only sticking point right now is that Bird, as an animation director making his first move into live action, is used to a huge quote; animated films generally have a much longer production process, and the directors are compensated as such. Paramount are trying to get Bird to reduce his rate, and so long as that can be sorted out, it sounds like Bird might be on board.
The three earlier installments have all had more-or-less the same problem; taking an undercooked script, giving it to a talented director and ensuring that the most important thing is making Tom Cruise look as cool as possible. Bird is clearly an outstanding director in the animated world, and has two Oscars to back that up, and we’re hopeful that he’ll make us care about the franchise for the first time (does anyone really count themselves as a fan of the “Mission Impossible” movies?). Very few directors working have such a strong sense for both story and action, plus he’s a strong personality, and hopefully won’t let Cruise & co. walk all over him. At the same time, with the film set for release next May, he doesn’t have time on his side, and with a script by Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum, who were behind the awful US remake of “Life on Mars,” this may be a case of history repeating itself.