Meet the all-star cast of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in a slew of new character posters. The latest addition to the Mission: Impossible franchise is being split into two separate movies, as Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two will look to explore the past of Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt. For those who would like an extended look at Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One's central cast, Paramount Pictures has released new character posters featuring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Mariela Garriga, Greg Tarzan Davis, Shea Whigham, Cary Elwes, and Henry Czerny.
Trailers for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One have already displayed most of these characters, but the newest posters also introduce Mariela Garriga as Marie, Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas, Shea Whigham as Briggs, Cary Elwes as Denlinger, and features Henry Czerny's return as Kittridge, the former director of IMF. The fun will be seeing what roles each of these characters will play in Dead Reckoning's overall plot, but for now, they look pretty badass in their very own character posters, which you can check out below.
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Explores Ethan Hunt's Past
The story of Ethan Hunt prior to the events of the first Mission: Impossible movie largely remains a mystery. The character, played for nearly three decades by Tom Cruise, is one of our most well-known action heroes, but fans really only know about what has happened to him on-screen. That will change over the course of the next two films in the franchise, thanks to a new character from Ethan's past.
Both Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning movies are going to dig heavily into Ethan's history, using a "threat" from his past that emerges in his current story. Nicholas Hoult was originally set to play this character, but the actor had to drop out of production due to scheduling conflicts. That led to the casting of Esai Morales. Given that Morales is much older than Hoult, the entire character was rewritten to fit the actor.
Director Christopher McQuarrie has been helming the Mission: Impossible franchise for several films now, and is directing both parts of Dead Reckoning. Speaking to Empire, the filmmaker explained how Morales' character — Gabriel — will tie into Ethan's backstory.
"Casting Esai allowed us to explore things with those characters and the notion of Ethan's past," said McQuarrie. "Ethan has a past that predates the IMF, and that allowed us to explore that with a character that knew Ethan before Ethan was Ethan. That's part of who Gabriel is."
Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which premieres in theaters on July 12th. It's the beginning of the end for the action-packed franchise, as Cruise reteams with longtime collaborator and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie for more death-defying and breathtaking stunts. Hunt and allies Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) attempt to track down a new weapon with the power to tear the world apart. Actors Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Esai Morales join the cast for the latest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which is set to wrap up with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.