Mission: Impossible III (marketed as M:i:III, M:I-3, or Mission: Impossible 3) is a 2006 American action spy thriller film co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams, his first film as a director, starring Tom Cruise, who also served as a producer, in the role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. The film was first released on April 26, 2006, at the Tribeca Film Festival, and widely released in the United States on May 5, 2006.