MI6 director wanted The Last Jedi title for Mission: Impossible 6. Here's why he resorted to Fallout

The trailer may make us wait a little longer, but Mission: Impossible fans now finally know the name of the sixth instalment. Tom Cruise, debuting on Instagram, announced the title of MI6. The film is named Fallout.

Talking to Empire, Christopher McQuarrie discussed how the title "Fallout" came to be, and revealed that an initial plan was to call the film The Last Jedi. But Star Wars beat Mission: Impossible by a week.

Also read: Tom Cruise falls again while performing an MI6 stunt scene; here's what happened [Video]

"We were a week late," the director said. "We were ready to register the title and they got in there first. That was really a bummer."

Following the "bummer," the director revealed, he wanted to give the movie a single-word title.

"The one thing that came out of it was I thought it should be a one-word title. This is a different kind of movie, it should be expressing a different attitude. It should be striking its own ground, and that's what I felt Fallout did," he said.

Explaining the rationale behind the movie's title, he said Fallout has multiple meanings – from literal to figurative. The director also teased plot spoilers and said: "There is the threat of nuclear terrorism hanging over the movie, which is the literal threat."

Sharing the figurative meaning of the title, he said: "There's the notion that what's happened in the movie is the end result of choices that Ethan Hunt has made in his life. It's Ethan's past come back to haunt him. It's the fallout of all his good intentions."

Cruise announced the title and immediately followed it with a shot from a stunt sequence. The actor, taking to Instagram, teased the film with the caption: "We've upped the ante for the sixth #MissionImpossible. I can't wait for you guys to see more."

The actor's tease was followed up by his co-star Henry Cavill. The Superman actor, who is donning a moustache in the movie, shared a stunt shot to not only tease the movie but also welcome Cruise to the social media platform.

"I see your death defying stunt Mr Cruise and I raise you one trained stunt Akita! Welcome to Instagram my friend!" he captioned the picture.

While the makers haven't announced when the trailer is dropping, McQuarrie recently revealed he was adding "finishing touches" to the promo.

Mission: Impossible 6 releases on July 26.