The helicopter scenes at the end of Mission: Impossible - Fallout feature some of Tom Cruise's most audacious stunts as Ethan Hunt, but they were also a serious challenge for the rest of the cast and crew. In the film's climax, Hunt chases Henry Cavill's August Walker through the air by first hijacking a helicopter and then using it to take Walker out. It's a sequence that remains thrilling four years after the movie's release but required those working on it to persevere through some adverse conditions.
According to a 2021 interview with Cavill (via GQ), Fallout’s helicopter scenes were difficult to shoot due to the real circumstances in which they were filmed as well as lingering technical difficulties. It’s a testament to what Cruise and the Mission: Impossible team are willing to go through for the sake of entertaining moviegoers. It’s why Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and its sequel are sure to continue upping the stakes.
The Challenge Of Mission: Impossible 6's Helicopter Scene Makes It Better
One of Fallout's problems was the challenge of filming its helicopter scenes during winter in the mountains of New Zealand. Cavill told GQ, "That’s four weeks of me, hanging outside a helicopter, with my head in the wind. And I’m firing real blanks – and so it’s not like CGI stuff added." Not only was it cold and windy with blank bullet residue flying all over the place, but Cavill’s headset didn’t work. He would wait “for the pilot to scream something and give a signal,” and sometimes The Witcher and Man of Steel actor would just stick his head out the window and start acting in the hopes of the cameras “catching something.” While no doubt a tough experience for Cavill that he says he's still grateful for, the realism of the helicopter sequence is part of the reason why it's so memorable.
How Mission: Impossible 6 Set The Bar For Mission: Impossible 7
As the end of Ethan Hunt's story looms on the not-so-distant horizon, behind-the-scenes stories like Cavill's show how Mission: Impossible keeps setting the bar high for itself with each subsequent installment. The extreme lengths Cruise will go to in his movies, whether it's Mission: Impossible or Top Gun: Maverick, are well-established at this point, but it's a great sign when everyone else who works with him shares that same all-in mentality. It’s a natural progression for a movie series to keep pushing the limits of what it can accomplish, but the Mission: Impossible franchise is on another level due to its commitment to practical effects.
For Cavill, Mission: Impossible - Fallout's helicopter chase sequence was "the most difficult bit, but at the same time, the most thrilling" part of his filming experience. If Cavill returns for Mission: Impossible 8, he may find himself in the midst of an even more exciting filmmaking experience. Hopefully, he’ll be ready – after he reloads his arms.
