New Mission: Impossible 8 Trailer Showcases Tom Cruise’s Daring Stunts

Ethan Hunt and his loyal IMF team are about to embark on their latest (and potentially last) mission to save the world, which means it’s time for Paramount to rev up the marketing campaign for this summer’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. With just over a month to go before the film premieres over Memorial Day weekend, the full trailer has now been released online, teasing viewers with what they can expect. Unsurprisingly, extravagant action set pieces are at the forefront, highlighting the latest wave of death-defying stunts performed by star Tom Cruise. You can watch the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer in the space above.

Like previous promotional materials, the latest Final Reckoning trailer is built around the idea of this being a culmination of sorts for the series, recalling Ethan’s notable exploits from the earlier films (the CIA break in, the Kremlin bombing). Footage from those previous installments is intercut to sell the notion that the events of The Final Reckoning are the sum of all the choices Ethan has made in the years prior. Of course, the trailer also has no shortage of spectacle; in addition to once again highlighting the biplane stunt, there’s also a tease for a set piece where Ethan jumps off an aircraft carrier into the water.

To coincide with the trailer release, a new Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning poster was unveiled:

In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Ethan and his friends are in a race against villain Gabriel to track down the Entity, the AI program prominently featured in 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. The film’s cast includes several returning franchise veterans, including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and more. Nick Offerman and Hannah Waddingham are among the series newcomers. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is co-written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed the previous three installments.

[RELATED – Tom Cruise Shares Video of Stunt That Could Have Suffocated Him (It’s Terrifying)]

The combination of the film’s title and the sense of finality that has defined the marketing campaign has led some viewers to believe The Final Reckoning could be the last Mission: Impossible installment. When asked about that possibility, Cruise played coy, just saying, “You gotta see the movie.” McQuarrie stated that The Final Reckoning is designed to be a “satisfying conclusion” to the previous 30 years of storytelling in the franchise.

Paramount has pulled a few pages out of the Avengers: Endgame playbook while promoting The Final Reckoning, and this new trailer is no exception. Perhaps influenced by 2023’s Dead Reckoning being a box office disappointment ($571 million worldwide against a $291 million budget), the studio is doing everything it can to make The Final Reckoning feel like a proper cinematic event that needs to be seen on the big screen. It remains to be seen if Mission: Impossible 9 will happen one day (Cruise is 62 years old, after all), but for now, the idea that this could be the last chance to see the star defy death with his outlandish stunts is a great emotional hook.

All of McQuarrie’s previous Mission: Impossible movies received critical acclaim, so the hope is he closes things out with a bang. The Final Reckoning looks like it has all the makings of a terrific summer blockbuster, combining spectacle with a gripping, entertaining narrative that sees Ethan pushed to his limits. Cruise’s commitment to delivering a one-of-a-kind experience for moviegoers is unparalleled, meaning he likely went all out to ensure The Final Reckoning is something special that delivers on its potential.