Casting begins for Mission: Impossible 4’s young co-star

Poor old Tom Cruise. No longer the surefire box office draw he was in his prime, he'll now have to make room for a more youthful co-star in the forthcoming Mission: Impossible 4. Just as the ageing Indiana Jones was aided in his quest by rebellious biker Mutt Williams, Ethan Hunt will definitely be joined by a fresh-faced sidekick.

And according to stateside reports coming in via Deadline, Paramount is all set to begin test screening a number of young hopefuls for the next movie. It's reported that Dawn Of The Dead's Kevin Zegers, Letters To Juliet's Christopher Egan and The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie are all reportedly in the running.

There's no word yet on what the new character's likely to be called. To sit comfortably alongside Ethan Hunt, he should surely have an equally dubious name, we'd argue. Our suggestions include Ashley Duck, Eric Kitt and Thomas Tank. Don't thank us all at once, Hollywood.

Mission: Impossible 4 is set for a December 2011 release.

Deadline