A major Tom Cruise dilemma is facing Top Gun: Maverick and Mission: Impossible 8. Both upcoming movies have important questions to answer in regards to how it wraps up the stories for Tom Cruise’s characters. Each has the potential to end with the death of its main protagonist.
Currently, the 59-year-old actor has three Paramount movies in the pipeline. With the studio, Cruise is set to make highly anticipated sequels to both Mission: Impossible - Fallout and the 1986 classic, Top Gun. First up for the actor is Top Gun: Maverick, which will see the star reprise his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell over 30 years after his iconic role in the original movie. Cruise will follow up the 2022 summer blockbuster with the seventh installment in Paramount’s Mission: Impossible franchise. Set for a June 2023 release, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One is poised to send Cruise’s Ethan Hunt on one more death-defying adventure. But as the title implies, it won’t be the last. Instead, his final outing as the IMF agent will come in 2024’s Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two.
Since it’s been confirmed that the eighth movie will be the end of the road for Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible 9 (if it gets greenlit at all) will have to work without Tom Cruise. In light of the situation, there are various theories about how the two Dead Reckoning movies will draw Hunt’s story to a close. And while Maverick’s arc has been significantly shorter, some of the same discussions are being held about Paramount’s plans for that character as well. Here’s why Top Gun 2 and Mission: Impossible 8 both have a dilemma to solve with Tom Cruise, how they may handle the issue, and whether or not the respective Paramount franchises have any chance of carrying on without him.
Why Top Gun 2 Might Kill Off Tom Cruise's Maverick
For now, there’s no confirmation on Top Gun’s future after Maverick. If Top Gun 3 isn’t in the cards, the second movie could be the extent of Paramount’s plans for the franchise. That, combined with Tom Cruise’s age, has generated speculation that Maverick might kill off its lead character. The movie is about Cruise training a new generation of pilots, so his death could be a part of how the film positions younger characters to take over his role. There’s also the matter of the movie’s ominous description, which calls for “the ultimate sacrifice from those that are chosen”. This naturally fueled theories that Maverick, who has never shied away from making risky maneuvers as a fighter pilot, could die to accomplish Top Gun 2’s central mission.
Mission: Impossible 8 Is Tom Cruise's Sendoff - Will Ethan Hunt Die?
Given it’s no secret that Hunt’s last onscreen mission is Dead Reckoning Part Two, the movie will need to find a way to properly conclude his story. It can of course do that with something as simple as retirement, but that’s of course not the only option. An obviously more tragic – and perhaps more emotional – alternative is death. Paramount could attempt to provide a definitive, epic end to Hunt’s eight-movie journey with a battle that sees the hero give his life for the mission. Since it would be a way to end Cruise’s role in the Mission: Impossible franchise with a bang, it certainly does seem like a scenario that’s on the table for his character’s ending, regardless of the fact that Cruise previously cast doubt on this ever happening.
Should Top Gun 2 & Mission: Impossible 8 Kill Off Cruise's Characters?
All things considered, there is indeed a strong likelihood that not one, but both of Tom Cruise’s most famous characters could die between 2022 and 2024. That being said, killing off its heroes isn’t necessarily the best narrative choice that these movies could make. While both could be endings, only Mission: Impossible 8 needs to be. In the case of Top Gun 2’s Maverick, his journey is hardly the long-running story that Hunt’s is. So though Cruise’s age may make it necessary for Maverick to turn in his wings, it doesn’t seem imperative that he die in the movie’s mission. This is only his second movie, so there’s still a sense that killing him off would be a big missed opportunity that would deny Paramount the chance to utilize Cruise's Maverick as a full-time mentor figure for the younger pilots.
When it comes to killing off its main character, Mission: Impossible 8 faces the same dilemma, albeit in a much bigger way. In contrast to the situation with Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt has had more than enough to do over the last few decades. With everything he’s endured since the first film in 1996, Hunt sacrificing himself in Mission: Impossible 8 would be an earned, worthwhile ending to his story. It may also work better than retirement, especially since he’s already tried that (in Mission: Impossible III). As a result, killing off Ethan Hunt may be the only way that Paramount can make Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two feel like the final chapter for his character. Ending it properly without his death would be challenging, but not impossible. Putting Hunt in mortal danger and somehow getting him out of it in one piece could be the most emotionally satisfying end to his story that Mission: Impossible 8 can offer.
Can Either Top Gun Or Mission: Impossible Work Without Tom Cruise?
Supposing both movies did kill off Tom Cruise, there would be a question of what their futures would be without him and if they could survive. After all, Cruise is the face of both franchises. A key difference between Top Gun and Mission: Impossible is that only one of them originated with the actor. Before Cruise came along, Mission: Impossible was the name of a 1960s spy series, which means that it at least has a history that doesn’t involve him. However, so much has changed in those days. It’s true that Ethan Hunt and Mission: Impossible weren’t synonymous with him originally, but that’s not the case anymore. With his reputation for doing his own stunts and how they’ve driven so much of each movie’s success, Cruise really has taken over and redefined the franchise to a point where it is hard to imagine Mission: Impossible soldiering on without him.
When looking at Cruise’s importance to Mission: Impossible and how he’s turned it into what it is today, it may very well be for the best if Mission: Impossible 8 is an ending not only to Ethan Hunt’s story but the franchise as a whole. And if Paramount doesn’t intend to bring Cruise back for a potential Top Gun 3, the same principle applies to Top Gun: Maverick. The Top Gun movies hinge entirely on Cruise’s character, so a Top Gun 3 that doesn’t include the actor in any capacity may be doomed to fail.
