Rumours have floated recently that Brad Bird (Ratatouille, The Incredibles, Up) might be directing MI 4, marking his first directorial on a live-action genre. If Bird was indeed chosen, this will be yet another new director headlining an installment of the franchise. The first three outings have Brian De Palma (1996), John Woo (2000) and JJ Abrams (2006). In general, each of the installment took years to develop. Its been 14 years and it should be interesting to see what's the new direction for the next installment will be. Expect Brad Bird to deliver a decent piece of mission impossible.
On another front, 20th Century Fox has announced the release date for Rise of the Apes, a prequel to the 2001's Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes which stars Mark Wahlberg. The prequel will see Rupert Wyatt on the director's helm and will partnering Peter Jackson's visual effects company WETA Digital for the film. Statement from the studio hopes that the prequel will relaunch the franchise following underperformed Tim Burton's version.
"Rise of the Apes" is an origins story set in present-day San Francisco. The film is a reality-based cautionary tale, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.