It's been much-rumored, and now apparently confirmed: Jeremy Renner, who's currently filming the new Mission: Impossible with Tom Cruise, is being groomed to take over the franchise with the next installment. At least, that's what he thinks.

Talking to MTV, Renner said,

It's a franchise to potentially take over. I can't predict the future and what they want, but that's certainly the idea.

Does this mean that Cruise's character will make the hand-off in the movie - or, perhaps, make the ultimate sacrifice, leaving Renner's character to pick up the torch to honor his friend's memory? The star is remaining tight-lipped:

I can't really go into the details of the script, because that's still evolving. It's Tom's baby. He's the engine behind the thing. What happens after that, we'll see.

I'm calling it right now: Emotional death scene, followed by post-credits hint that maybe Cruise's Ethan Hunt is still alive, just in case his career tanks. What do you think?