Warning! This article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One.With the release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, the question looms over whether 2024’s Dead Reckoning Part Two will be the final movie in the franchise. Following the great success of 2018’s Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Paramount charted the franchise's immediate future. Christopher McQuarrie was brought back to write and direct two sequels that were initially planned to shoot back-to-back and star Cruise as Ethan Hunt once again, with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One marking the beginning of the two-part story.
Returning alongside Tom Cruise for the seventh movie are Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Vanessa Kirby, with Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Esai Morales, and Cary Elwes being new additions to the franchise. Most of these cast members are also expected to return in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two given the cliffhanger ending of Part One. Despite the excitement for what is still to come, Tom Cruise's journey as Ethan Hunt could be coming to a close. Previous reports stated that Mission: Impossible 8 is the last movie in the series, but it seems Paramount and Cruise may choose to accept more missions after all.
Mission: Impossible 8 Is The Last Confirmed M:I Movie
As of the release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, its sequel is currently the last confirmed movie in the franchise with Paramount having the anticipated Mission: Impossible 8 on their release slate for June 28, 2024. The studio originally gave both Dead Reckoning movies 2021 and 2022 release dates respectively, but the COVID-19 pandemic saw multiple delays before the films settled on Summer 2023 and 2024. At the moment, the anticipation for the next two Mission: Impossible movies means Paramount has not officially announced any future plans for the franchise - that is to assume there are any.
Based on previous announcements, Paramount does not traditionally rush sequel details for the Mission: Impossible franchise. Instead of taking the approach of most major franchises like Marvel or Star Wars - where the studios predate sequels and future franchise installments - Paramount has typically elected to wait and decide what comes next for Mission: Impossible until after the latest movie is released. Due to this precedent, any official announcements about Mission: Impossible 9 or any potential spinoffs should not be expected until after the release of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two in June 2024.
Mission: Impossible 8 Being Tom Cruise's Send-Off Has Been Debunked
An element that supported the belief that Mission: Impossible 8 could end the franchise were the reports that Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two were planned as Tom Cruise's send-off from the series. The star has been playing Ethan Hunt since 1996 and will have been in the role for nearly three decades by the time Mission: Impossible 8 is released. This means he will be in his 60s when he potentially walks away from the franchise. While there is no confirmation that Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 are ending Tom Cruise’s tenure as Ethan Hunt, reports on the matter seem to insist this was initially the case.
That being said, an update regarding these reports came from the director of installments five through eight of the Mission: Impossible franchise, Christopher McQuarrie. Appearing on the Light the Fuse podcast in 2022, McQuarrie was asked whether the reports of the two-part Dead Reckoning being a send-off for Cruise held any weight. McQuarrie, while not explicitly confirming or denying Cruise’s exit, simply insisted that people should not always believe what they hear regarding reports from trades:
"Let me tell you, I’ve been working with Tom Cruise for 15 years and I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve been standing next to the man, witnessed an event and then read about it in the trades the next day and none of what they describe is actually true... When you read articles in the trades, just put the imaginary word in front of the headline: ‘The Agenda Is…’ When you read ‘anonymous sources’ or ‘sources close to the production say,’ that’s somebody putting it out there for a specific reason. That’s someone wanting others to think that for a specific reason, and you can never know for sure what those reasons are. You learn to ignore it and laugh at it. In today’s world, you wait 17 minutes and another news cycle will sweep it away.
Mission: Impossible 9 & Beyond Has Been Discussed
While it remains the case that no projects in the franchise have been confirmed beyond Mission: Impossible 8, recent comments from creatives involved with the two-parter have hinted that more adventures will come in the series. The films certainly seem to be building up to Tom Cruise's exit with the return of Kittridge, suggesting the sequels will tie in elements from Ethan Hunt’s earliest missions. However, there have been some hints and teases that more missions could be accepted after Dead Reckoning Part Two.
The franchise’s box office remains a big factor contributing to why more Mission: Impossible movies could be green-lit. The total combined worldwide haul of $3.5 billion before the release of Dead Reckoning Part One means Paramount will likely hit an overall total of over $5B by the time Mission: Impossible 8 is released in June 2024. If Hollywood franchises and studios of the past are anything to go by, that type of success is not something easily turned away from.
This has been reflected in comments of late, specifically those given to Fandango - as seen below - by Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie. At the premiere for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One in Rome, McQuarrie stated that the two-parter would not end the series and that discussions have already taken place about ideas for future stories. While it is unclear whether these discussions will come to fruition, the critical and commercial success of the franchise surely bode well for more Mission: Impossible movies after Dead Reckoning Part Two, especially taking into account Tom Cruise’s recent comments on his dedication to the franchise.
Can Mission: Impossible Work Without Tom Cruise?
The big question about the franchise's future is whether the movies can work without Cruise's involvement. Paramount previously attempted to pass the franchise to Jeremy Renner after Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, but the movie only proved how valuable Cruise was to the series and just how much audiences responded to his performances. This led to Renner's role diminishing in subsequent sequels before not appearing at all in Mission: Impossible - Fallout or Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. The combination of Cruise's dangerous stunts and leading man charisma make him an incredible fit for the franchise, so it is not surprising that Paramount refocused the property's future around him.
While many might argue that the failed baton pass between Cruise and Renner is evidence that the Mission: Impossible movies need their leading man to be successful, that does not mean there is no future without him. The sequels have done an excellent job of building up additional characters who could potentially take over as the lead of the main franchise or star in spinoffs. Before Mission: Impossible 7, Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust seemed the ideal lead candidate for the franchise if not for her tragic death in the recent film. Still, Hayley Atwell’s Grace, Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn, and Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickle would work as future lead characters.
All that being said, the recent pull of Tom Cruise at the box office cannot be ignored. The almost $1.5 billion worldwide haul of Top Gun: Maverick led many to label Cruise as the savior of cinema following the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is certainly no denying Cruise’s immense dedication to providing fantastic, practical action sequences. The actor has been a testament to this for decades, performing high-octane, incredibly dangerous stunts that no other actor in cinema has even come close to attempting. While the franchise certainly could continue without Cruise, the argument of whether it should is a different conversation entirely given his centrality to its success.
How Long Tom Cruise Wants To Make Mission: Impossible Movies
This argument that the franchise should not continue without Cruise is a sentiment somewhat echoed by the actor himself. While Cruise has never stated that his leaving the franchise should be the end of the Mission: Impossible movies, he has recently commented on just how long he wishes to continue making them. Speaking to SMH about veteran actor Harrison Ford, Cruise had this to say: “Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going; I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”
While this could certainly be dismissed as an off-handed comment to compliment Harrison Ford's incredible longevity as a Hollywood star, Cruise's intense commitment to his craft means it should be taken somewhat seriously. Cruise has shown no sign of slowing down with his films of late, only increasing the stunts and upping the ante to immeasurable levels. If Cruise is indeed serious about making Mission: Impossible movies until he is Ford's age, that means there could be at least another 20 years of M:I movies before Cruise turns 80.
Why Mission: Impossible 8 Shouldn't Be The End
Even if Mission: Impossible 8 is the ending of Tom Cruise's involvement, it should not be the last film in the Mission: Impossible franchise overall. Paramount could take a short break after Mission: Impossible 8 to give Ethan Hunt some time to breathe, but that should not stop them from continuing the franchise in the near future. There are too many exciting possibilities for where the IP could go next to have Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two be the end. There is no way of knowing what Paramount thinks could work as future Mission: Impossible movies, but there are plenty of compelling directions to explore.
It seems unlikely that Mission: Impossible 9 would immediately try to replace Ethan Hunt, especially after Cruise’s comments on how long he wants to stay part of the franchise. It's also impossible to think about the franchise's future after Mission: Impossible 8 without considering the likelihood of Mission: Impossible TV shows being made for Paramount+. After all, the movie franchise is a reboot of the original 1966 series, and Paramount’s streaming service is undoubtedly in need of more originals based on known IPs with Mission: Impossible being one of the biggest the studio has access to.
This could be how Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, or Ving Rhames star in spinoffs, as shows could be viewed as a better testing ground for their individual popularity. Of course, Paramount+ could also deliver a soft reboot focusing on a new, younger IMF agent who begins to rise through the organization, potentially with an older Ethan Hunt guiding them after Dead Reckoning’s double-part essentially retires his character. This would allow Cruise to stay part of a franchise he has shown such dedication to while allowing a fresh take on the spy-action franchise set to continue with Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One and its sequel.
