First Official Photo for ‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’

One month and a half after the first trailer for the latest “Mission: Impossible” installment, “Ghost Protocol,” came out, fans also get the first official photo from it. Showing Tom Cruise looking more serious than ever, the photo is perfect for the tone of the upcoming film.

As we also reported at the time the trailer came out, “Ghost Protocol” aims to be the most action packed, grittiest and bloodiest in the entire franchise.

It also introduces new members to the cast, with various reports (from reputable sources) saying that Jeremy Renner’s Brandt character will take over from Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in future installments.

This only makes it somewhat strange that the studio would base the campaign on Hunt (Cruise) again, especially since they allowed rumors to circulate about this being the last film in which he makes an appearance.

Whichever may be the case, Hunt is shown in the first photo for “Ghost Protocol,” with voices online saying that it may also be turned into the official poster as well.

Part of his face is covered by a hoodie, but what’s left uncovered positively screams determination and a certain sense of impending doom.

This is doubled by the background: there are fires burning everywhere and there’s also a lot of smoke. Perhaps there was a crash, followed by an explosion, or maybe Hunt himself set something on fire and he’s now walking away from it.

The latter version would make more sense, since Hunt is now faced with the most challenging mission of his career so far: that of saving his own team after they’ve been framed for something they didn’t do.

The film also stars the aforementioned Renner, Paula Patton, Ving Rhames, Josh Holloway and Simon Pegg. It’s co-produced by Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams and Paula Wagner.

“Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” is out in theaters in the US on December 21. Below is the official trailer.