Renner hints at 'Mission' franchise takeover

Jeremy Renner has confirmed that he could take over the Mission: Impossible franchise from Tom Cruise.

The Oscar-nominated Hurt Locker star suggested to MTV that groundwork is being laid for his character Brandt to replace Cruise's IMF agent Ethan Hunt.

"It's a franchise to potentially take over," Renner said. "I can't predict the future and what they want, but that's certainly the idea."

Renner remained tight-lipped on the storyline for the fourth outing in the series, titled Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

"I can't really go into the details of the script, because that's still evolving," he explained. "It's Tom's baby. He's the engine behind the thing. What happens after that, we'll see."

Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Ving Rhames, Josh Holloway, Michael Nyqvist, Léa Seydoux and Anil Kapoor are among the cast for director Brad Bird's new Mission: Impossible, due out in cinemas in December 2011.