Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It: Take Zac Efron Seriously
Why the Former Teen Star is Perfectly Positioned to Inherit Mission: Impossible
This Memorial Day weekend, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning marks the end of an era: Tom Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt. For nearly three decades — since the franchise’s cinematic debut on May 22, 1996 — Cruise has sprinted across rooftops, clung to planes, and redefined action cinema while performing his stunts. As the torch is poised to be passed, the question looms: Who could follow Cruise?
Enter Zac Efron. Once the fresh-faced teen heartthrob of High School Musical, Efron is now a rugged, remarkably fit, and surprisingly seasoned 37-year-old actor. He’s grown up, and so has his audience. While no credible reports or industry rumors have linked Efron to the Mission: Impossible mantle to my knowledge (not even from the indomitable Matthew Belloni), perhaps I can play Hollywood power broker here for a moment.
Efron occupies a unique space in Hollywood. He’s recognizable but not overexposed, charismatic, athletic, and — crucially — unclaimed by the Marvel or DC universes. Many popular contenders like John Krasinski, Chris Pine, Chris Pratt, or even Tom Holland are already typecast as iconic heroes or superheroes, making it hard for audiences to see them as Ethan Hunt. Efron is a familiar face but still capable of surprising audiences, and his lack of action movie roles could work in his favor.
There’s also a certain meta aspect to Efron stepping into Cruise’s shoes. The two share more than a jawline: in July 2021, Efron posted a comedic Mission: Impossible-style video on Instagram, staging a daring COVID-era “rescue” of his grandfather from a nursing home — complete with the iconic theme music and playful stunts. Years earlier, Cruise himself taught a then-23-year-old Efron how to ride a motorcycle, inviting him to his home for a two-hour lesson on one of the Triumph bikes used in Mission: Impossible III.
Efron’s about the right age, too. Cruise was 34 when the first Mission: Impossible hit theaters in 1996. Efron, now 37, is roughly the same age, while other contenders are already well into their 40s, or too young to be believable as IMF superagent Hunt. This is a similar challenge to recasting James Bond, except that this would be the first such change for the M:I franchise. And speaking of Bond, two words: Taron Egerton (35).
What Mission: Impossible needs isn’t just another action star who can punch people and shoot guns — it needs someone fit, charismatic, surprising, and ready to evolve. Efron’s a blank slate with an edge. His 2023 turn as a retired wrestler in The Iron Claw transformed him to the point he was hardly recognizable. And his recent guest appearance on Apple TV’s The Studio reminded viewers that he remains a relevant and dynamic artist.
No, there’s no buzz on this (yet). But I think maybe there should be. Efron isn’t just a familiar face with all the qualities described above — he’s the Cal Ripken Jr. of Hollywood: a workhorse with an IMDb page that reads like a marathon, not a sprint. Since his professional debut nearly a quarter century ago, Efron has racked up over 50 acting credits across film and television, rarely missing a year without a project. He’s tackled everything from musicals and comedies to dark dramas and thrillers, earning a reputation for reliability and versatility– no headline-making injuries, no mysterious absences, just steady, consistent work. Those are important qualities in someone who would have to helm three, five, or even seven action movies over more than a decade.
With Paramount Pictures — the studio behind Mission: Impossible — currently being acquired by Skydance, the franchise could soon enter a new era of leadership and creative direction. If Mission: Impossible is to be rebooted for a new generation, why not cast someone already trained by Tom Cruise himself?
Your mission, should you choose to accept it: take Zac Efron seriously.