APRIL FOOL: New 'Mission: Impossible' film to be set in Sarasota

As they relaxed in the waters of Siesta Key Beach on their honeymoon, Nicole and Drew Pearson expected to feel like they’d stepped into a romantic tale.

But it started to feel more like an action movie. 

“Just as I’m leaning in for a kiss, she starts looking behind me and says, ‘That guy totally looks like Tom Cruise,'” he recounted.

“To be fair, he really did,” she said. 

The couple were surprised to learn that the individual sprinting down the beach in heavy dark clothing was indeed the famous actor, just keeping in shape for the filming of an upcoming “Mission: Impossible” installment set and filmed in Sarasota.

Although rumors had surrounded the idea of Cruise returning to the long-running espionage thriller franchise spawned from the 1966 television series, the notion had seemed unlikely.

2025’s “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” a direct continuation of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” served as somewhat of a send-off for Cruise’s character, Ethan Hunt. 

But cue the famous staccato notes on a steel drum: production on “Mission: Impossible – Tropical Reckoning” is now underway. 

Producer Max Grossing of Top Dollar Pictures, a production partner of Paramount Pictures, says the idea was sparked when Cruise watched the 1973 James Bond film “Live and Let Die” and was enthralled by the scene in which Bond sprints across a row of crocodiles in Jamaica.

“Cruise picked up the phone and said, ‘How has Ethan Hunt never done that? You’ve got to make another film!'” he recalled. “I suggested setting the film in Florida because of the state’s remarkable density of large reptiles. Obviously, having real alligators would pose animal welfare concerns, but we’re building animatronics so fearsome, even Bond would think twice.”

Cruise performs most of his own stunts for the film, which centers on Hunt emerging from his retirement in Siesta Key after he realizes his condominium association is involved in a far-reaching conspiracy with implications for international security.

At one point, Grossing said, that leads to an encounter with some snappy gators, but not before Hunt hang glides off the 74-foot tower of the Canopy Walkway at Myakka River State Park, landing on what he thinks is a rock but which turns out to be more of a reptile. 

Ethan Hunt is also up to other tricks that could make even "Florida Man" jealous.

In one scene, according to filming eyewitnesses, Hunt disguises himself as a window washer to enter the glass-paneled One Sarasota Tower from above. In another, he uses wires to stealthily descend from the underside of the John Ringling Causeway, sneaking onto a passing boat. In yet another, he confronts a villain atop the recently opened Mote SEA building, after daringly scaling the side of the structure.

“Thanks to its rich architectural and cultural heritage, Sarasota offers a stunning backdrop for an action blockbuster,” said Reid Scripps, cinematic affairs coordinator for the city of Sarasota. “We are proud of the opportunity to showcase our city’s iconic features to a global audience, and grateful that when the public thinks of Sarasota, they may now picture Ethan Hunt leaping across our skyline.”

“Mission: Impossible – Tropical Reckoning” is budgeted at $650 million and planned for release in 2028. However, it is expected to face steep competition from releases that include “King Kong vs. Mega Gator," "E.T.: Everglades Extra-Terrestrial," and “Twister III: Hurricane Season.”

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