Tom in Cruise control for 'Mission: Impossible IV'

Tom Cruise on the run in "M:I:III"

(Paramount Pictures)

Have you missed toothy Tom Cruise?

Well, apparently he's been missing you.

The often-outspoken movie star hasn't been on screen for two years.  That's when Cruise had one eye wide shut behind the eye-patch in the historical "kill Hitler" drama "Valkyrie."

According to The Hollywood Reporter and other sources, however, the little guy with the big grin is prepping for a fourth run as super spy Ethan Hunt in the "Mission:  Impossible" series.

If the Hollywood Reporter article is accurate, the next action-thriller will hit theaters on Memorial Day weekend next year.

"The reunion between Cruise and the studio once looked unlikely after Cruise's production deal there was cut loose in 2006, the year 'Mission: Impossible III' was released. But both parties have recognized the promise in continuing a franchise that has grossed $1.4 billion worldwide," says the Hollywood Reporter on-line post by Jay A. Fernandez.

Welcome back, Tom, I guess.  Just please resist the temptation to use Oprah Winfrey's couch as a cheesy self-promotional trampoline.