20 Things You Didn't Know About Mission Impossible 2
2. Oliver Stone Was Nearly The Director
One of the great things about the Mission: Impossible franchise is how each movie has its own unique style and until very recently always had a different director. This is best exemplified in the transition from Brian De Palma's psychological thriller Mission: Impossible to John Woo's explosions first, story later approach to MI2.
This all could have been so different however, as early in the sequel's development, Oliver Stone was attached to direct. Known best for his war films and political thrillers including Platoon, Wall Street and JFK, the tone of MI2 would have been more akin to that of the first movie and could have set the precedent for the rest of the series.
Moreover, an early, but ultimately unused, script for the film had been written by William Goldman whose previous work included All The President's Men and A Few Good Men, further suggesting that MI2 was very close to becoming a straight up political thriller.