Though it has been 11 years since it was released, Simon Pegg still can't stop talking about Ghost Protocol. It's hardly surprising, as though he had starred in Mission: Impossible III as the guy in the chair, the fourth movie thrust him into the action and spectacle of the series. But Peggs's comments about the movie are just the tip of the iceberg.

Ghost Protocol was the first live-action movie directed by Brad Bird, who had made a name for himself in animation but had yet to prove himself when it came to directing physical stunts. However, it ended up revitalizing the series and he injected some much-needed humor into it. But between title debates, concerns about the director from the crew, and spontaneous flights to Morocco, the production was almost as frenetic as the movie.

Paramount Considered Omitting "Mission: Impossible" From The Title

Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol Tom Cruise

Mission: Impossible: Ghost Protocol is the first movie in the series to add a subtitle and drop the numbers, which was a great decision given that numbered sequels in long-running franchises only draw attention to how old they are. But while the fourth movie is where Paramount began adding subtitles, the studio was almost even more sensationalist than having "ghost" in a title of a movie that features no ghosts. According to Variety, the studio was considering removing the franchise's very name from the title.

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But it has been done successfully in the past, as Christopher Nolan's second Batman movie is titled The Dark Knight and the 2013 Superman reboot is called Man of Steel. However, it'd be much harder to sell a Mission: Impossible movie without "Mission: Impossible" in the title than it would be to sell a Batman or Superman movie.

Paramount Greenlit The Fourquel Despite M:I3's Poor Box Office Performance

IMF Operations Manager John Musgrave rescues a Julia lookalike in Mission Impossible III

Though even blockbuster movies have a lot of artistic merits, they're first and foremost made to make money, and a film's box office gross is considered when making every "artistic" decision. And when a movie in a successful franchise has a significant drop in box office gross from its predecessor, it's time to go back to the drawing board. The most recent example of this is the Fantastic Beasts series, which might be canceled after its third film despite Warner Bros. having a five-movie plan.

Despite critical acclaim, Mission: Impossible III was far from one of Tom Cruise's biggest box office hits, and it made a shocking $150 million less than M:I2. Nevertheless, Paramount still greenlit the movie after such a huge underperformance. However, according to Metro, Cruise's odd public behavior at the time kept the film from being greenlit much earlier, hence the six-year gap between movies.

The Cinematographer Told Bird He Wasn't Assertive Enough

Edna Mode surrounded by fabric in The Incredibles 2.

With a dense filmography full of blockbuster event movies like Mission: Impossible, and beloved Award-winning epics like There Will Be Blood, cinematographer Robert Elswit has been observing different directors for 40 years. So when he saw that Brad Bird wasn't as vocal as other directors, he sought to give the filmmaker some advice over dinner.

According to AV Club, Elswit told Bird he wasn't assertive enough and was worried that he wouldn't have a voice when it came to making tough decisions. But little did Elswit know that Bird was just listening to ideas and what people had to say during the early stages of production. As Bird voices The Incredibles' Edna Mode, the overly assertive superhero fashion designer, it shouldn't have come as any surprise that the filmmaker knows how to get his voice heard.

It Had The Codename Aries

Paula Patton and Tom Cruise dressed in formal attire in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

When movies enter the production stages and principal photography begins, some of the more high-profile films that are part of franchises are given fake titles. This is to keep the production under wraps and to keep any potential spoilers away from journalists and the public eye.

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According to Insider, Deadpool was shot under the codename Wham! and Star Wars: The Last Jedi went under the name Space Bear. And according to Moviefone, Ghost Protocol had the codename, Aries. Coming up with a fake title for production almost seems like a waste of time, as it could have been produced under the name Ghost Protocol and nobody would have had a clue that it was a Mission: Impossible movie.

None Of The Actors Had Stunt Doubles For The Burj Khalifa Scene

Jeremy Renner and Tom Cruise hanging outside the Burj Khalifa in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol (2011)

It has been well documented how Cruise seemingly has some kind of death wish and is using the Mission: Impossible series to fulfill that wish. He has hung on to the wing of a plane as it took off, held his breath underwater for seven minutes, committed to several HALO jumps, and the list goes on. But some other Mission: Impossible actors do their own stunts too, and in the case of the Burj Khalifa sequence, the whole cast was influenced by Cruise's commitment.

The Burj Khalifa scene is the most heart-racing moment in the whole series, as Ethan climbs up the tallest building in the world in Dubai, and his IMF task force is hanging out of windows to help him–and there wasn't a stunt double in sight.

J.J. Abrams Was Originally Attached To Direct

Philip Seymour Hoffman looks menacing in Mission Impossible III

So many different directors have been attached to the Mission: Impossible movies over the years, and at one point, David Fincher was attached to Mission: Impossible III. However, the third entry into the series eventually saw J.J. Abrams at the helm, and he did such a great job that Paramount wanted the soon-to-be Star Wars director to return.

Abrams had even signed on to direct the fourthquel, which would have made him the first director in the series to stay on for a second outing. However, plans, unfortunately, fell through, but he did stay on as a heavily-involved producer and had a say in the directing choice with Cruise.

Edgar Wright And Reuben Fleischer Were Also Considered To Direct

Simon Pegg looks confused in Shaun of the Dead

After Abrams left the director's chair, that left some pretty big shoes to fill, and according to MTV, the studio was eyeing two filmmakers who hadn't quite made a name for themselves like other directors in the series had. Along with Bird, the studio was considering Edgar Wright and Reuben Fleischer.

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At the time, Wright had knocked down genre walls with horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead and buddy-cop comedy Hot Fuzz, and with his kinetic style of filming, he would be a perfect choice for a Mission: Impossible movie. Fleischer only had one movie under his belt, Zombieland, another frenetic horror-comedy, so it was clear that Paramount had a specific vision.

Brad Bird Had Almost Total Creative Freedom

Ethan Hunt chases after Hendricks

In an interview with Radio Times, Brad Bird details just how much freedom he had. However, it wasn't because he demanded it, but because the studio needed it. Abrams told the Incredibles director that they had ideas for set pieces but weren't sure where to go with them.

That left a lot of room for creativity. Bird explained in the interview that the studio told him, "'Think of anything that you've ever wanted to see in a spy movie.' And I had about five different things that I've always wanted to see." Bird also brought up the idea of every piece of tech in the movie malfunctioning, which is part of what makes the film so unique.

It Was Originally Going To End With Ethan Hunt Becoming An IMF Secretary

Tom Cruise holding up a phone in the middle of a sandstorm in M:I Ghost Protocol

Throughout Ghost Protocol, it feels like a kind of passing of the torch, as it seems as if William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) is being groomed to take over the series. And it's an odd ending when that doesn't happen in the movie's closing moments. The reason it's so strange is because the screenplay originally had a much different ending.

According to Collider, Elswit revealed that the movie was going to end with Ethan Hunt becoming an IMF secretary and Brandt taking over as the main agent of the series. The early 2010s saw a weird brief trend of Renner taking over franchises, as he replaced Matt Damon as the lead in the Bourne series with The Bourne Legacy too.

The Crew Flew By Cruise's Private Jet To Go Ziplining In Morocco

Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Tom Cruise, and Simon Pegg walk through Dubai in Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol

After working with Cruise on five of the movies in the series at this point, Simon Pegg has tons of stories about the peculiar actor, and the most notable was during shooting Ghost Protocol. Midway through production, being as spontaneous as always, Cruise invited the whole crew to go ziplining at a random location in Morocco. But as the cast and crew were scheduled to shoot in Casablanca, they didn't have much time.

Ironically, just like in the franchise where the movies always end with characters stopping bombs from detonating in the final seconds, Cruise flew the cast to the location in record timing. The actor flew everybody to the zip lining location in Morocco in his private jet and then flew them to Casablanca all within an hour and a half.

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