Brad Bird feared he might be the director who kills Tom Cruise.

The Oscar-winning helmer was concerned the Hollywood actor might come to an untimely end during their latest movie 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol', which sees the 49-year-old star hanging off the tallest skyscraper in the world, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

When asked if he ever thought he could have been the director who kills Tom, he replied: "Yeah. I think every director that has worked with him in these kinds of films probably has that feeling where your eyes snap open at three in the morning and you go, 'My god, what am I doing?' Definitely."

Brad took a break from directing animated movies to take the helm of 'Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol' - which also stars Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg - but he looks set to return to the genre to create a sequel to his 2004 film 'The Incredibles'.

He added: "I can't say that I'm actively working on it, but I have some ideas. If I ever get it all together, into a story that is at least as good as the one we did, I'd be happy to return to that world, and I love working with Pixar."