After delivering the biggest box office grosses yet for a Mission: Impossible movie with its last installment, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie are returning for two more. McQuarrie will write and direct Mission Impossible 7 & 8, which are being shot back-to-back.
Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Mission: Impossible films.
Title
Mission Impossible 7‘s official title has been revealed to be Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Plot
We don’t yet know too much about the plot of the upcoming Mission Impossible movies. But judging by the franchise’s history, they’ll like involve a lot of action, many stunts, and at least one daring escape.
Most recently, we got a special look at Mission: Impossible 7. This Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One featurette revealed what is said to be “the biggest stunt in cinema history.” Cruise even recently revealed the stunt was done on day one in case it killed him. He noted, “Well, we know either we will continue with the film, or we’re not. Let’s know day one! Let us know day one what is going to happen: Do we all continue, or is it a major rewrite?” Fair enough.
Take a look at the antics below.
He’ll also be fighting atop a train.
In addition, we got a new look at the movie and its stars with a fresh set of images courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.
McQuarrie teases Pom Klementieff’s character, sharing, “She is somebody who, at the start of our story, is partnered with Esai and represents this malevolent force that Ethan is opposed to.” Meanwhile, speaking about Hayley Atwell, he notes, “She was somebody we were interested in for Rogue Nation. It took us a while to find just the right character, just the right opportunity, for Hayley to really play to her strengths.”
Behind the Scenes
Christopher McQuarrie is returning to write and direct both Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8. He previously who previously wrote and directed Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible — Fallout. Like the franchise’s fifth and sixth installments, the next two are filming back-to-back.
Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Cast
Naturally, Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, as is the other franchise staple Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell. Also reprising their characters in the upcoming films are Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett and Frederick Schmidt. One major returning figure is Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge, who hasn’t appeared in the franchise since the first installment in 1996. Kittridge was the IMF director hunting Ethan, under the impression he was the agency’s mole. McQuarrie confirmed Czerny’s return on Instagram.
Among new faces joining the franchise, which McQuarrie also announced on Instagram, are Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Charles Parnell, Indra Varma, Mark Gatiss, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Shea Whigham, and Lucy Tulugarjuk. Morales will play Ethan Hunt’s next foe, replacing Nicholas Hoult, who departed due to scheduling conflicts.
In August, we learned that Nick Offerman and Janet McTeer would join Mission Impossible 8. We don’t know details about their roles yet. Hannah Waddingham is also joining Mission Impossible 8 (via Variety) in an unspecified role. Additionally, Mariela Garriga will come aboard both films as well.
Recently, Christopher McQuarrie revealed a character from the first Mission: Impossible movie, released in 1996, would also return to the franchise. Yes, Rolf Saxon will return to the Mission: Impossible franchise as William Donloe.
For those who need a refresher Rolf Saxon’s William Donloe was the CIA Analyst from whom Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt stole the Non-Official Cover list of the Impossible Missions agents, which revealed their locations around the world, their real names, and their code names. As punishment, Donloe was exiled to work at a desolate station in Alaska. So we guess he probably doesn’t feel to happy about that. Could Rolf Saxon bring William Donloe back as one of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part Two‘s villains? It feels likely.
Mission: Impossible 7 and 8‘s Release Date
The upcoming pair of Mission: Impossible films are caught up in yet another wave of pandemic-related delays. Mission: Impossible 7 will debut on July 12, 2023. Mission: Impossible 8 will now open on June 28, 2024.
The Franchise’s Future Beyond the Next Two Installments
No official word yet if these two films will serve as the “series finale” for the franchise. But Variety is indicating that this is, indeed, the end for Ethan Hunt and his comrades. A report from the trade suggests that Mission: Impossible 8 will wrap up the long-running franchise. Paramount Pictures has not commented on the news but Nerdist has reached out for confirmation.
If it is the end for the franchise it’s quite a feat—one that lasted eight films and nearly 30 years. Tom Cruise will be over sixty by the time Mission: Impossible 8 hits theaters, so its the perfect time to hang up his Ethan Hunt coat, and hopefully go out on a high note. And we mean a literal high note, as he’ll probably be going out while hanging off the side of a mountain or a skyscraper one last time.
Originally published on January 14, 2019.
