Mission: Impossible III (marketed as M:i:III, M:I-3, or Mission: Impossible 3) is a 2006 American-Chinese-German action spy film co-written and directed by J.J. Abrams, in his feature directorial debut, starring Tom Cruise, who also served as a producer, in the role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt. It is the third installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. On April 26, 2006, the film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, and widely released in the United States on May 5, 2006, and was a critical and commercial success.