Fun fact: if you write a Mission: Impossible screenplay, it doesn’t have to be on self-destructing paper. That may seem counter-intuitive, which is why David Koepp wrote 4 drafts of the 1996 film that all exploded before he could deliver them to Brian De Palma, but you can use totally normal printer stock. That’ll be good information for Drew Pearce to have because according to The Hollywood Reporter, the writer with credits for Iron Man 3 and Pacific Rim will be tackling Mission: Impossible 5.
Pearce first caught Marvel’s eye with his cult series No Heroics, which featured superheroes in a sit-com setting. Now, while Iron Man 3 is on its way to making all the money and a healthy bit of the critical love, Pearce is leveraging his new position smartly.
The interesting thing here is that, as we reported earlier, Christopher McQuarrie is rumored to be in the mix for the directing gig. That means after collaborating with writer-turned-director Shane Black on Iron Man 3, Pearce very well might work with writer-turned-director McQuarrie for another franchise sequel. And then? Pearce himself is all set to become a writer-turned-director, prepping an original story that he plans to helm.
Mission: Impossible 5 will attempt to film this fall, which means it could repeat Ghost Protocol’s release by dropping in December of 2014. Don’t be too surprised if that happens because they’re moving quick on this one.
