The Cruise sightings came after "MI" production in Berlin was put "on hold" under unexplained circumstances earlier this year. Reports of a move to Tokyo surfaced shortly thereafter, with unnamed insiders suggesting that the move might be needed to keep the $100 million production on budget.

Since then, however, dozens of Berliners have claimed to have seen Cruise walking incognito through Kreuzberg, one of Berlin’s most happening districts, suggesting that the production will stay in Berlin after all.

The possible change of filming locations is the latest in a series of many roadblocks the film’s producers have faced over the past year. In August, 2004, J.J. Abrahms took over as director from John Woo, who directed of the last instalment, filmed in Prague.

Before that abrupt directorial switch, the German Bundestag vetoed Cruise’s request to allow filming within the Reichstag parliament building’s famed spiralling glass cupola. Not all German lawmakers agreed with the decision, with many citing the film’s blockbuster status as a great way to market the German capital to international tourists.

Filming for "Mission: Impossible 3" was set to begin last August in Berlin, but the entire project has been officially "on hold" for months, according to a representative of Babelsberg Studios.