Jeremy Renner to Join Tom Cruise in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 4

It looks like Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner is going to join Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible IV which is awesomely being directed by Pixar animation director Brad Bird. 

Renner is the guy Paramount Pictures was looking for to carry on the Mission: Impossible series once Cruise is finished with it, or once the studio is finished with Cruise. Studio sources said Renner "has a Daniel Craig quality" that can carry on the franchise. Deadline reports:

Paramount has struggled to find the right co-star to play an operative opposite Cruise, and one factor was to selecting an actor who could potentially carry the series down the line, should Cruise's Ethan Hunt character not continue to be the emphasis. While Cruise is expected to return for a fifth installment, production chief Adam Goodman wanted a guy who could grow into a leading man in his own right.

Seriously guys, the Mission: Impossible 4 film production just keeps getting better and better! I'm looking forward to this flick, and I didn't think I would be.

Renner was also recently set to co-star in The Avengers as Hawkeye, and the next film you'll be able to see him in is the Ben Affleck directed movie The Town which looks like a solid movie. 

Production on the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise is scheduled to begin this fall, and will be released on December 16th 2011.

What do you all think about Renner taking on a lead role in the film?