A new Mission: Impossible 7 set photo is teasing the return of Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow character. As a recent addition, Kirby first appeared in the sixth installment of the franchise, Mission: Impossible - Fallout, in 2018 as Alanna Mitsopolis, who is also referred to professionally as the White Widow. The daughter of mysterious arms dealer, Max (Vanessa Redgrave) and the younger sister of Fallout antagonist, Zola Mitsopolis (Frederick Schmidt), Alanna covertly helps Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF in the capture of Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).
Kirby rose to stardom for her Emmy-nominated performance as Princess Margaret in seasons 1 and 2 of The Crown before starring in action flicks like Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Hobbs & Shaw. However, it was the poignant and emotional drama, Pieces of a Woman, for which Kirby received an Oscar nod on Monday. Kirby is nominated for Best Leading Actress amongst a star-studded slate that includes Viola Davis, Andra Day, Frances McDormand, and Carey Mulligan.
After the Academy Award nominations were announced Monday morning, Mission: Impossible 7 director, Christopher McQuarrie, took to Instagram to offer Kirby, “sincerest congratulations” from her “entire Mission family” for her “richly deserved Oscar nomination.” McQuarrie’s kind words captioned the set photo, teasing the return of White Widow. Check out the Mission: Impossible 7 set photo of Kirby below:
Christopher McQuarrie, who directed the last two Mission: Impossible movies in Rogue Nation and Fallout and will direct Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, seems to have a penchant for revealing additions to the cast on his Instagram, as he did previously with Rob Delaney, Mark Gatiss, Indira Varma, and Cary Elwes. Though, Kirby did previously confirm that she would be reprising the role of White Widow in both Mission: Impossible 7 and 8. Like McQuarrie’s previous Instagram posts, the White Widow set photo appears to have some sepia color grading, which gives the images a warm brownish tone and a more classical Hollywood feel.
While plot details for Mission: Impossible 7 remain sparse, White Widow is expected to return to aid Ethan Hunt and the IMF as they face an impossible mission. Considering the character’s complicated past, Mission: Impossible 7 has the chance to fully flesh out Alanna’s backstory and possibly reintroduce some past Mission: Impossible characters from storylines involving her mother, Max, who died in the first movie. After numerous delays, Mission: Impossible 7 is currently scheduled to be released on November 19, 2021.
Source: Christopher McQuarrie
