DirectorChristopher McQuarrie (Jack Reacher) and starTom Cruise (Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol) have set a dubious task for themselves: to reclaim the box office fromStar Wars: Episode VII when their upcoming filmMission: Impossible 5 opens a week later.  Paramount has set a release date of Christmas Day, 2015 for the spy thriller.  Cruise will return to the fifth installment of the series to play Ethan Hunt; Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton andSimon Pegg are rumored to return but no official announcements have been made.  Scripted byDrew Pearce (Iron Man 3),Mission: Impossible 5 reunites the director/star team-up of McQuarrie and Cruise from the surprise worldwide hit,Jack Reacher.  Hit the jump for more.

The Wrap was

first to report thatM:I5 will be hitting theaters on Christmas Day, 2015.  It was recently reported that Disney's newStar Wars installment, directed byJ.J. Abrams (Star Trek) would be opening onDecember 18, 2015, giving the McQuarrie-Cruise actioner quite the box office obstacle to overcome.  Then again, it might not be such an impossibility, sinceMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol also opened in December and went on to make north of $700 million.  Production on the fifth film isscheduled to start in London this coming February.  While there's no official word on his involvement just yet, Pegg did say he'd like tocarve out some room in his schedule to work on the sequel.  With a release date set and a production start looming, check back here for the latest casting and plot news, which should be coming our way within the next few months.  Be sure to let us know what you thinkM:I5's chances are of beatingStar Wars: Episode VII at the box office during the 2015 holidays.