Looks like J.J. Abrams won't return to direct Mission: Impossible 4, which is currently being scripted. "I'm producing with Tom [Cruise]," Abrams told MTV. "My guess is, given other things, that I will not be directing the movie."
Ironically, the entire M:I 4 project came together out of Cruise's desire to reunite with Abrams.
Tom asked if I'd be interested in working with him again. I didn't have a sense of what the story would be, but very quickly this idea came to mind, and Tom reacted to it in a way that got me excited, and then we got [Alias writers] André [Nemec] and Josh [Appelbaum] to come onboard, and they began developing the idea with us.
I don't want to give anything away yet, but I will say that it's a story that will feel consistent with the world that has been created. It's not a reboot kind of thing.
So what are the "other things" that would make Abrams unavailable to direct M:I 4? Besides Star Trek 2, Abrams wouldn't mind working on a Superman movie. Abrams wrote an infamous Superman script back in 2002, when fanboy-hater Brett Ratner was set to direct, but his script was never used and the Superman Returns debacle was made instead. Abrams told MTV that returning to Superman would "be a blast."
Writing that script was a long process. It was a very passionate character for me. As a kid growing up it meant a lot to me. It would be wonderful and fun to see that brought back. I don't know what Warners is thinking or what their plan is. It would be a blast.
No one has talked to me about it. Obviously I'm sure Warner Brothers has a plan for what they want to do.
So far, Warners' "plan" has been to have "no current plans" to make a Superman movie.