There hasn't been much news about the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise, but the production is inching along. It was announced in June that Mission: Impossible IV was moving forward, with both J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise attached. However, it was not made clear whether both men were only producing or if they would also be returning to direct and star, respectively. In August, it was announced that Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec were hired to write the screenplay, based on Abrams' idea.
Now, Abrams has revealed that Mission: Impossible IV may feature characters and actors from the original TV series.
How cool would that be? I just got a call that Peter Graves is in great shape, which would be a very bizarre bend in the space-time continuum, for obvious reasons. I almost feel like you could make him serious again and bring him back. Whether it's [Leonard] Nimoy, who I have an incredible affinity for, or Graves or anyone, we'll see. I actually tried to get Martin Landau in Mission 3, in a very small little moment just for fun, and was told that he had no interest in doing it.
Of those mentioned, Nimoy is the most likely of the group to agree to appear in M:I IV because of his relationship with Abrams: He recently reprised the role of Spock in the Abrams-directed Star Trek relaunch, and he played the pivotal role of William Bell in Abrams' TV series, Fringe.
Abrams admitted to having a lot of irons in the fire, but said he is "hard at work on Star Trek 2 and Mission: Impossible IV." In addition to Fringe and a new, unnamed TV show pilot, Abrams is producing Morning Glory, starring Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams, due out in 2010.