Where to watch Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Trivia & production notes

• David Fincher was originally set to direct Mission: Impossible III for a summer 2004 release but abandoned the project to make Zodiac instead, citing creative differences with the studio over the franchise's direction.
• Tom Cruise personally called J.J. Abrams to offer him the director role after binge-watching the first two seasons of Alias.
• J.J. Abrams' involvement delayed production by a year due to his existing contractual obligations with the TV series Alias and Lost.
• Under Joe Carnahan's 15-month tenure as director, Kenneth Branagh was set to play a villain based on Timothy McVeigh, alongside Carrie-Anne Moss and Scarlett Johansson, but all three departed when production was repeatedly delayed.
• Billy Bob Thornton turned down the role of Owen Davian because he didn't want to be typecast as a villain, which then went to Philip Seymour Hoffman.
• Tom Cruise took a major pay cut to help get the film greenlit by Paramount Pictures on June 8, 2005.
• Martin Landau declined an offer to reprise his role as Rollin Hand in a cameo because he disliked the direction the franchise was taking and wanted a larger part.
• Michael Giacchino composed the film's score, making him the third composer in the series after Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.
• Kanye West recorded a song called "Impossible" for the film featuring Twista, Keyshia Cole, and BJ.
• Principal photography took place across six countries, including locations in Rome, Shanghai, Berlin, and Vatican City, with night scenes shot in Shanghai and some Shanghai footage filmed in Los Angeles.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Mission: Impossible III, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.