Superman Star Henry Cavill Gets Mission Impossible Job Over Social Media

After a few delays, Mission: Impossible 6 is about to start production. It has now been confirmed that star Tom Cruise will be joined by Superman himself--Man of Steel's Henry Cavill.

The news was revealed by director Christopher McQuarrie, who addressed Cavill directly on Instagram. His message read: "Had a thought. Curious if you're interested in a role in the 6th installment of Mission: Impossible. No pressure."

Cavill himself replied, stating that he was indeed interested. McQuarrie then laid out some caveats for the job: "Must enjoy extreme heights, high speeds, motor vehicles of all varieties (especially aircraft), practical stunts, firearms, and sporadic exposition. All good?"

The conversation ended with McQuarrie telling the British actor: "Welcome aboard. Your social media account will self destruct in 5 seconds."

M:I 6 was due to start filming last year, but a pay dispute between Cruise and the studio led to pre-production being paused while negotiations took place. It now kicks off next month.

Last month, McQuarrie revealed that the movie will break with tradition by not opening with a big action sequence. "It starts in a very unconventional way," he said. "It does not start with action. That was the hardest pitch of this movie."

McQuarrie went on to explain that the movie will involve an "emotional journey" for Ethan Hunt, played by Cruise. "I've seen five of these movies and I don't know who Ethan Hunt is," he said. "One movie sort of dealt with his personal life; the other movies are about people speculating what's really going on in Ethan's head. I want to know who Ethan is in this movie, I want an emotional journey for this character, and Tom really embraced it.

The last movie in the series, 2015's Rogue Nation, was also directed by McQuarrie and made $682 million at the worldwide box office. Mission: Impossible 6 arrives in theaters on July 27, 2018.