LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com)- Keri Russell has already dropped her plans to attend Stanford to go to University of New York for J.J. Abrams, so it's no wonder that the actress is willing to embark on an impossible mission with the writer-director-producer.
Confirming what has long been rumored, Variety reports that Russell and her "Felicity" guru Abrams are reuniting on a little film called "Mission: Impossible 3." Set to begin filming on July 18, the blockbuster will represent Abrams' feature directing debut.

Russell will play an agent trainee under the watch of Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt. The trade paper implies that this is a variation on the part that Scarlett Johansson was set to play before the film underwent a dramatic overall last year, delaying production and shedding directors and stars. The disarray on the "Mission: Impossible" sequel was such that Paramount took the unusual step of issuing a statement last week assuring business leaders and the press that the film was moving toward production on schedule and that it would still make its May 2006 release date.

In addition to Cruise and Russell, "M:I3" features Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Abrams and Russell made their bones with the 1998 premiere of The WB's "Felicity," a series he created with Matt Reeves and which starred Russell as the titular New York-based college student. After a brief career lull, 2005 has been a comeback year for Russell, who co-starred in the indie hit "The Upside of Anger" and is currently appearing on the small screen in TNT's epic "Into the West" miniseries.