Running for almost three decades long, with no signs of slowing dowm, the Mission Impossible franchise starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt is undoubtedly an enjoyable watch. The six-part series (so far) that first hit the theaters in 1996 with Mission: Impossible has since introduced plenty of characters to take the story forward and bring us new and exciting adventures led. By extension, many actors joined the Mission Impossible franchise along the way.

As is the case with every other Hollywood franchise, actors from all parts of the globe auditioned for now-fabled roles in the Mission Impossible franchise. Of course, between turning down the roles and losing the parts to other actors, there are a variety of reasons why an actor ultimately didn’t join Cruise’s high-octane franchise. While we impatiently wait for the upcoming seventh installment, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning − Part One, which is scheduled to hit the theater screens on July 14th, 2023 (via Collider), here is a rundown of actors almost cast in the Mission Impossible franchise.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

6 Nicholas Hoult

     Fox Searchlight Pictures

In 2020, casting news broke that Nicholas Hoult was joining the Mission Impossible franchise as a villain in MI:7 and MI:8. Sadly, with 2020 being the pandemic era, casting didn’t go as planned. Hoult had to depart from the franchise because of his busy schedule, making space for Esai Morales to join the cast. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Hoult spoke about his absence: “Yeah, unfortunately, that was because of COVID and things shut down for a while. And then productions clashed, so I couldn’t be a part of it anymore." Though not much is known about the character that Morales will play in Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning − Part One, one thing is certain: it will be a delight to watch Morales in action, given his excellent portfolio in playing big baddies.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

5 Ian McKellen

     New Line Cinema

It might be surprising for Ian McKellen fans that the Oscar-nominated actor turned down the opportunity to play a role in the Mission Impossible franchise. McKellen was offered the role of Dr. Nekhorvich in Mission: Impossible II, but rejected the part. And as we know, the character was the portrayed by Croatian actor Rade Serbedzija. Per McKellen’s interview with PEOPLE, he spilled the beans about refusing the role: “Well, I couldn’t judge from reading just those scenes (my scenes) what the script was like. So I said no. And my agent said, ‘You can’t say no to working with Tom Cruise!‘ and I said, ‘I think I will’”. Nonetheless, after rejecting this role, McKellen was offered another iconic part: Magneto in Fox’s X-Men series, which catapulted his career to great heights. Shortly after, Peter Jackson offered him the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The rest, as we know, is history.

4 Carrie-Anne Moss

     Warner Bros.

Carrie-Anne Moss had remarkably cemented her position as a phenomenal actor in Hollywood after her jaw-dropping performance as Trinity in The Matrix franchise. Thanks to her performance and Joe Carnahan taking over as director, Moss was set to be the woman lead opposite Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible III. However, Carnahan was replaced by J. J. Abrams, and Moss’ character was entirely cut from the film. In fact, the plot of the Mission: Impossible Ⅲ was completely changed. And as fans are aware, in the final cut, Monaghan ended up portraying the role of Julia, Ethan’s love interest.

3 Anthony Mackie

     Marvel Studios

Cruise had long carried the weight of the Mission Impossible franchise. However, there was a time, precisely during M:I4, when a couple of names were in discussion to eventually replace him. Anthony Mackie was one such name, alongside Kevin Zegers and Christopher Egan. Interestingly, Mackie was a solid contender for the young IMF spy’s role due to his diversified portfolio, specifically his latest performance as Sanborn in The Hurt Locker. Of course, that didn’t pan out, and Cruise has continued to play the marvelous and super-stunning spy Ethan Hunt. Nonetheless, years later, we saw Mackie donning the outfit of MCU’s superhero Sam Wilson, which is a pretty noteworthy achievement in itself, considering he is now the franchise’s Captain America.

2 Scarlett Johannsson

Another name that was included in the cast of Mission: Impossible Ⅲ, along with Carrie-Anne Moss, was Scarlett Johansson. Unlike Moss’ situation, however, after Abrams took over as director, Johansson’s role was kept in the story. The actress even underwent extensive training sessions for her role, but the change in leadership of the movie and re-works on the scripts resulted in delays. Due to this, Johansson had to drop out of the project, though not much is known about the fate of the character that she was set to play in the Mission: Impossible Ⅲ.

1 Jessica Chastain

     Columbia Pictures

Ilsa Faust’s admirer — believe it or not, this titular anti-hero role in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation was almost played by Jessica Chastain. However, as fans already know, it was utimately played by Rebecca Ferguson, though we would have loved to watch what Chastain had up her sleeves for the role of the infamous Faust. Sadly, it is not precisely known why she turned down the part in the franchise. Presumably, during those days, the actor was in high demand following her success in Zero Dark Thirty.