Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 American action spy thriller film and the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible series, and director Brad Bird's first live-action film. It stars Tom Cruise, who reprises his role of IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, with Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton as his supporting team. Ghost Protocol was written by André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum, and produced by Cruise, J. J. Abrams (the third film's director) and Bryan Burk.