This speculation came following the two sequels of Dead Reckoning were announced, with Variety saying that these two sequels would mark the farewell to Ethan Hunt’s character, who has played the star since 1996.
It seems that what was rumored regarding this was not accurate, as director Christopher Macquarie did not confirm or deny these speculations, but commented on the matter during an interview on the “Light the Fuse” podcast, saying: “Don’t believe every report you read regarding Tom Cruise, Via Variety,” adding that he had worked with Cruz for 15 years, and had heard nothing to believe.
The director continued that he might not tell us how many times he had stood next to Cruz, witnessed an event and then read regarding it in the trading the next day, and something they described was true or actually happened.