Back in May, two months before Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation hit theaters in July, a report surfaced that Paramount has already started developing Mission: Impossible 6. Tom Cruise was confirmed to return as Ethan Hunt, and produce alongside David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and J.J. Abrams. Today, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation director Christopher McQuarrie revealed on his Twitter account that he has come aboard to direct Mission: Impossible 6.

This marks the first time that the same director has taken the helm for back-to-back movies in the Mission: Impossible franchise. The series kicked off with 1996's Mission: Impossible, directed by Brian De Palma, followed by director John Woo's Mission: Impossible 2 (2000), J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011). J.J. Abrams made his directorial debut with Mission: Impossible III, and he has stayed on board as a producer ever since.

Tom Cruise revealed in July that production on Mission: Impossible 6 will begin in the summer of 2016. It isn't known at this time if Christopher McQuarrie is also writing the screenplay for Mission: Impossible 6, or if he will only serve as the director. The filmmaker wrote the screenplay for Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, based on a story he co-wrote with Drew Pearce (Iron Man 3).

Paramount hasn't issued a release date for Mission: Impossible 6 yet, but if production does in fact get under way this coming summer, it's possible that the studio could release this action movie sequel in the summer of 2017. Paramount had initially slated Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation for release on Christmas Day, but they pushed it back five months to July 31, 2015. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation earned an impressive $195 million at the domestic box office and $682.3 million worldwide.

Christopher McQuarrie made his directorial debut in 2000 with The Way of the Gun, which he followed up in 2012 with the Tom Cruise action-thriller Jack Reacher. He also wrote the screenplays for Tom Cruise vehicles Valkyrie and Edge of Tomorrow. Are you excited that Christopher McQuarrie is coming back to direct Mission: Impossible 6? We'll keep you posted with more details as we get closer to production starting next year. Take a look at the director's tweet where he announced the news below.