Jeremy Renner to gain ‘Mission’ lead from Tom Cruise

[HMG Celebrity News] – Mission Impossible has become one of the most successful franchises in recent Hollywood history, but rumors that Tom Cruise may surrender the lead are now gaining ground as Jeremy Renner says he’s being prepped for the lead.

The 39-year old actor – known to most as Sgt. James from last year’s ‘The Hurt Locker’ – is now on location in Dubai, shooting the next installment of the MI series, ‘Ghost Protocol.’ And he says the plan is that he should inherit the lead role from Tom.

“It’s a franchise to potentially take over,” he told MTV. “I can’t predict the future and what they want, but that’s certainly the idea.”

Rumors of such a change have been swirling since mid-2009. It was claimed 48-year old Tom was looking to pass the baton to a younger actor, or even use an ensemble cast. But how will it be done? Renner’s not telling.

“I can’t go into the details of the script, because that’s still evolving,” he said. “It’s Tom’s baby. He’s the engine behind this.”

But planned or not, the first thing Jeremy needs to do is survive the shoot in Dubai. Photos from the set show Tom scaling the 2,717-foot-tall ‘Burj Khalifa’ tower like it was a jungle gym. And Jeremy says that’s just a typical day. Asked to name his craziest stunt so far, the answer was brief;

“Everything!” said Renner, grinning. “The stunts have been insane, and Tom’s been doing loads. He’s crazy. It’s unbelievable. I’m training in the gym and doing everything I can, just to keep up. I need to look like I know what I’m doing!”

Since its debut in 1996 the ‘M:I’ movie series has hauled in no less than $1.4-billion at the worldwide box office. But do you think Jeremy can keep that train on the tracks, or will the series self-destruct if Tom ever leaves?…