Paula Patton joins 'Mission Impossible 4' team

Hollywood actress Paula Patton has signed up to play the female lead in the new Mission: Impossible sequel.

The Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire actress will play a young operative who works with Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) on his fourth tough assignment, reports contactmusic.com.

The movie will not be called Mission: Impossible 4 as producer JJ Abrams and Cruise think of it as a reboot of the franchise rather than a continuation.

Director Brad Bird is to begin shooting the $140 million project in the autumn, with Jeremy Renner also lined-up to star in the project.

Paula, 34, only began her acting career in 2005, and has since starred in a number of movies including Hitch and London, and was most recently seen alongside Queen Latifah and Common in romantic comedy Just Wright.

She is currently filming comedy movie Jump the Broom ahead of her work on the fourth Mission: Impossible movie, which is due for release in December 2011.