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DESCRIPTION: This week we dip into the “Mission: Impossible” multiverse by exploring the Robert Towne draft of the first movie. We go through the script, picking apart the changes from the final film, both subtle and substantial, while comparing it to the David Koepp drafts that both preceded and followed this draft. It’s a peek at a never-made ‘Mission’ that very nearly was! Released July 29th, 2022.

SHOW NOTES: If you’re interested in reading David Koepp’s drafts that came before and after this Robert Towne version, check out his website. Also, be sure to take a listen to our interview with Koepp from a couple years ago: part 1 and part 2.

As discussed in the episode, here’s a small sampling of Towne’s draft taken from three different scenes. Click any page to enlarge...

First assistant director Chris Soldo unearthed this draft among his archives. If you want to hear our interview with Chris, check out part 1 and part 2. And here’s the disk he found with the file on it...

Here’s a set photo of the deleted scene in the safe house in Prague, which we discuss in the episode. Phelps convinces Ethan not to go on vacation and instead to follow through with the mission in Prague...

If you want to hear director Brian De Palma talk about the writing process on this movie, check out our interview with him: part 1 and part 2.

And here are some other screenwriter interviews we’ve done over the years: Ronald D. Moore (“Mission: Impossible 2”), Josh Applebaum and André Nemec (“Ghost Protocol”), and Christopher McQuarrie (“Rogue Nation,” “Fallout,” and uncredited rewrites on “Ghost Protocol”).