After six films and two decades, the Mission: Impossible franchise is still going strong with the new release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout. The latest globe-trotting action thriller sees Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) butting heads with August Walker (Henry Cavill), a CIA agent sent along to monitor the IMF team, and also brings back Sean Harris' Rogue Nation villain Solomon Lane. Featuring the kind of nonstop, slickly-executed action that has come to define the franchise, Fallout already has us looking forward to more in Mission: Impossible 7.
Of course, at this early stage a sequel has yet to be green lit, let alone put into development. But Mission: Impossible - Fallout ends with the IMF team still intact and ready for more action, and even now Paramount is doubtless already looking forward to the possibilities of the next chapter in the story. Here's our rundown of what the stars have said about Mission: Impossible 7, and what to expect from the next chapter in the story.
- This Page: When/If We Should Expect To See Mission: Impossible 7
- Page 2: What To Expect In Mission: Impossible 7
Will There Even Be A Mission: Impossible 7?
Given that Mission: Impossible - Fallout is already off to a storming start at the box office, it's hard to imagine that Paramount Pictures would consider ending the franchise here. That said, it's equally hard to imagine a Mission: Impossible movie without Tom Cruise, whose dedication to the character of Ethan Hunt and commitment to throwing himself into the most extreme stunts is crucial to these movies' death-defying spectacle. That commitment allows directors like Fallout's Christopher McQuarrie to film lengthy action sequences without having to use cuts and careful angles to hide a stunt performer's face. While a character like James Bond can be recast over and over, Cruise has become synonymous with the Mission: Impossible movie franchise - particularly because Ethan Hunt was an original character created for the 1996 movie, as opposed to a character lifted from the Mission: Impossible TV series.
But while Cruise may still be able to pass for a man in his late thirties or early forties, he's actually 56 years old, and in the near future may be looking at slowing down a bit. Cruise famously suffered a broken ankle while filming a stunt on the set of Fallout - an injury that set filming back months. The franchise's stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood told NYPost that Cruise is so determined to do his own stunts that he will threaten to quit the movie if the studio doesn't allow it. But there's a reason why studios prefer to use stunt performers (to put it bluntly, an injured stunt double is replaceable, whereas an injured movie star is not), and if Paramount were to put their foot down on the matter, Cruise could well opt to walk away from Mission: Impossible rather than watch someone else perform his stunts.
All that said, Cruise is hardly past his action movie sell-by just yet, and will probably stick around for at least one more movie. Let's just hope he's smart enough to call it a day before he starts needing fifteen cuts just to climb over a fence.
When Would Mission: Impossible 7 Release?
So far the Mission: Impossible franchise has seen six movies released over the course of 22 years, and Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation and Fallout were each released just three years apart. The last two movies were both released in July, and all of the Mission: Impossible films so far - with the exception of Ghost Protocol, which came out in December - have been summer blockbusters, comfortably holding their own against comic book movies and other tentpoles. With that in mind, the smart money is on Mission: Impossible 7 releasing in July 2021.
Related: Mission: Impossible - Fallout Cast & Character Guide
What Mission: Impossible Stars Have Said About a Sequel
Tom Cruise has done limited interviews for Mission: Impossible - Fallout, which means that we haven't had many chances to get his thoughts on a sequel. He does have a few different projects on the go at the moment, including a Top Gun sequel and two Doug Liman sci-fi movies: original project Luna Park, and a sequel to 2014's Edge of Tomorrow. Cruise may need a bit of a break after breaking his ankle and trying to act during a HALO jump at 25,000 feet, but it's hard to imagine him actually turning down another Mission: Impossible movie, given his love for the franchise and character.
We asked Simon Pegg what he thought was next for Benji, and he replied that he'd like to see his character "grow further," and have plenty more scenes with Ving Rhames' Luther, since he likes the dynamic of the two characters. Angela Bassett, who plays CIA boss Erica Sloane, told us that she hasn't even thought about returning, though she did note that it's certainly possible, saying, "I don't think I fell off into a ravine anywhere." As for director Christopher McQuarrie, who is the only director to helm more than one entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise, he told IndieWire that he's now hoping to go back and direct more independent films. McQuarrie's exact phrasing was "as I finish with this movie and potentially with this franchise" - so make of that what you will.
Page 2: What To Expect In Mission: Impossible 7
Mission: Impossible's Two Trilogies Are Complete
So far, you can divide the Mission: Impossible movies up into two distinct trilogies - the first numbered, and the second subtitled. Fallout brings the core drama of Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol full circle by exploring the pain and guilt that Ethan feels over Julia being abducted , and subsequently being forced to hide her identity and go on the run. Ultimately, Fallout offers Ethan closure by showing that Julia has found work that she is passionate about, and even found a new husband; she outright tells Ethan that she loves her life and what she does, and the two part amicably. With that plot thread wrapped up, Mission: Impossible 7 has an opportunity to start over fresh with new enemies - and perhaps even some new allies.
What to Expect In Mission: Impossible 7
If Tom Cruise is a must-have element of any Mission: Impossible movie, then arguably Ilsa, Benji, and Luther are as well. Ilsa is a character who was seemingly brought back because of her sheer popularity, since her goal of killing Solomon Lane is arguably extraneous to the movie's plot. Although she's technically free to do what she wants by the end, we get the feeling that Ilsa isn't ready to settle down for the quiet life just yet. Moreover, unlike Julia, she's skilled enough and embedded deeply enough in the spy world that Ethan probably doesn't have to worry about her being kidnapped or killed just to get to him, making a real romance between them sustainable.
Related: Mission: Impossible - Fallout's Ending: The Reframing Of Ethan Hunt Explained
Benji and Luther are similarly important elements - especially since they work so well as a duo - and we'd love to see Benji given more action moments in Mission: Impossible 7. Finally, though scheduling conflicts got in the way of him appearing in Fallout, we can probably expect to see Jeremy Renner's Agent Brandt make a welcome return in the next movie, and perhaps even set up to become the new face of the franchise in case Cruise decides to retire from the IMF.
Mission: Impossible 7 Should Be About The Team, Not Just Ethan
One of the core themes of Mission: Impossible - Fallout was teamwork, with Ethan's efforts to play the line wolf often veering off track. There's the addition of August Walker on the Paris mission, of course, but also Ethan crossing paths with Ilsa Faust and left uncertain as to what her mission is, and whether it's at odds with his own. As mentioned before, the movie is also about Ethan forcibly distancing himself from Julia in order to spare her from the dangers of his life.
The movie's climax drives home the point that, as brilliant as he might be, Ethan can't save the world alone. The two nuclear bombs must be found and prepared for disarmament while Ethan tracks down the remote that's in August Walker's possession. So, while Ethan is off having his epic helicopter battle, Luther and Benji (and Julia) must work to cut the wires inside the bombs, and Ilsa must continue her mission of stopping Solomon Lane. When Lane attacks Ilsa, Benji goes to rescue her, and then in turn Ilsa rescues Benji from a potentially horrible death. Trust is a rare thing in Ethan's line of work, but Fallout drives home the value of having friends you can rely on, and a future sequel could expand on that theme and perhaps even reveal more about Luther, Benji, and Ilsa.