Paramount is moving fast on Mission: Impossible 6, capitalizing on the success of this summer's Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, which has earned over $682 million worldwide. Franchise star Tom Cruise revealed in July that production on Mission: Impossible 6 will begin this summer, although a release date hasn't been given yet. Today, we have a new report from Showbiz 411 claiming that actress Rebecca Ferguson will reprise her Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation role as Ilsa Faust in the sequel.

This will be the first time that one of the franchise's leading ladies will return in a starring role. Mission Impossible III star Michelle Monaghan did return for a brief cameo at the end of 2011's Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Mission: Impossible 6 will also mark another first, with Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie signing on to direct in November. He will be the first director to tackle more than one movie in the long-running series.

It isn't known yet if other stars such as Jeremy Renner (Brandt), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn) and Ving Rhames (Luther Stickle) will be returning for this follow-up. Rhames has starred in all five Mission: Impossible movies thus far, with Simon Pegg's tech-savvy Benji Dunn first appearing in Mission Impossible III and Jeremy Renner making his debut in Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol. As you can see, the franchise has a tradition of keeping certain cast members in play from each movie, which will continue with Rebecca Ferguson.

Tom Cruise will return to star as Ethan Hunt and produce alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and J.J. Abrams, with Don Granger and Matt Grimm serving as executive producers. Christopher McQuarrie is directing and also writing the screenplay. Paramount revealed back in May that they were already developing the sequel, but it isn't known how far along the writer-director is in the writing process.

Before Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation hit theaters, Rebecca Ferguson was best known for starring as the title character in Starz's The White Queen. She also starred in last year's big-budget action-adventure Hercules, and she will next be seen in The Girl on the Train. What do you think about Ilsa Faust returning for Mission: Impossible 6?