When scribe Drew Pearce created No Heroics, the acclaimed British sitcom about the off-duty antics of a group of D-list superheroes, little did he know where that cape and cowl gig would lead him. Fast forward a few of years and Pearce is still playing with superheroes, only way more successfully.
Global hit Iron Man 3, which Pearce co-wrote with director Shane Black, looks set to pass the $1 billion mark this weekend. So what do you do after the billion dollar adventures of Tony Stark? How about penning the next quest for arguably the 2nd greatest spy in entertainment today with Mission: Impossible 5!
As somebody who’s never had another of his feature film screenplays actually make it to the screen before (Marvel hired him to adapt their Runaways comic in 2010, but the film remains in development limbo), this is just another in a long line of big name projects that Pearce has managed to land on his talent and potential alone. After finishing up the script for Iron Man 3, he produced an uncredited rewrite of writer-director Guillermo Del Toro’s earlier draft for Pacific Rim, as well as penning Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla Reboot. Pearce will next be putting words in the rapid fire mouth of Robert Downey Jr once again, as he was tapped to provide the script for Guy Ritchie’s third Sherlock Holmes film. On top of all of that he also has Will “Easy A” Gluck’s action comedy, Secretary’s Day, and an untitled comedy with Jason Segel on the horizon.
So yeah, he’s kind of busy.
While the initial report from THR is unable to shed any light on which story direction this new installment in the superspy franchise will take (with JJ Abrams producing, there was never any hope of a leak), it does confirm that oft rumoured Christopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) is indeed in negotiations to direct. With the recent news that star Tom Cruise will indeed be back for this fifth installment (there was some hints that previous entry, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, was setting up franchise newcomer Jeremy Renner to take over the leading man duties), it looks like IMF agent Ethan Hunt’s next adventure is coming together rather nice and quickly now.
Pearce and McQuarrie will have their work cut our for them though as Ghost Protocol not only ended up being the most critically well received in the series, but it also went on to make a not unimpressive $700 million at the box office making it both the highest earner in the franchise and also the highest earner in Tom Cruise’s career.
Last Updated: May 16, 2013
