Mission: Impossible 7 can pay off a cut romance between Ethan and Ilsa from Mission: Impossible – Fallout. In the Mission: Impossible franchise, Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust has evolved into an important ally of Tom Cruise’s character with whom she has developed a will-they-won’t-they dynamic. She and Ethan also have a working relationship that goes back to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which marked her first appearance in the series.
In the movies, Ethan and Ilsa aren’t romantically involved. However, Ethan’s love life has factored heavily into previous Mission: Impossible movies. it was crucial to Mission Impossible 2, where he was in love with Nyah (Thandie Newton). After the franchise moved on from her – albeit without explanation – attention immediately shifted to Julia (Michelle Monaghan). Despite only having major roles in Mission: Impossible 3 and Fallout, Julia has been Ethan’s only real love interest since Nyah’s exit. And though Fallout revealed that Julia married someone else after Ethan faked her death, it’s become clear that Ethan still has deep feelings for his former fiancé.
Mission: Impossible 7 could potentially begin a new romance for Ethan by revisiting a dropped story with Rebecca Ferguson’s character. The idea of the two becoming romantic was actually toyed with in Fallout, but was cut from the final film. According to director Christopher McQuarrie, Ilsa and Ethan had a physical fight over a disagreement about killing Lane. In the midst of the altercation, the two had an unscripted kiss that was actually Ferguson’s idea. Having liked how it turned out, McQuarrie initially worked the scene into the story, but eventually changed his mind, feeling that it weakened her character. Plus, he decided that it created a complication for Fallout’s Julia story. McQuarrie pointed out that Fallout shouldn’t start a new romance when Ethan still had an ”unresolved” relationship with Julia at the time.
Going in this direction feels like the natural progression of both characters’ storylines in the Mission: Impossible franchise now that the arc with Julia has been properly wrapped up. There was plenty of chemistry between the two in both Rogue Nation and Fallout, so while the time may not have been right in either movie, it does feel like a real possibility for Mission: Impossible 7, which could incorporate a new version of Fallout’s cut scene. Set photos of the two embracing have corroborated the common theory that an Ethan-Ilsa romance is indeed what the future holds for the characters.
If so, Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust could be instrumental to how Mission: Impossible ends Ethan’s story. Ferguson will play roles in both Mission: Impossible 7 and Mission: Impossible 8, which is confirmed to be Cruise’s last time playing the character. Since she’ll seemingly be around until the end of the journey, a romance between Ethan and Ilsa could be part of the endgame for Ethan and a way for him to have a happy ending.
