Christopher McQuarrie’s latest entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise is already making waves months before its release. During a recent interview with Total Film (via GamesRadar), the director of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning revealed that an early screening of the film left one viewer on the edge of their seat – literally. The reaction suggests that the eighth installment might push the envelope even further than its predecessors, with set pieces capable of surprising even long-term fans. That’s saying a lot, given that the Mission: Impossible franchise is widely known for the death-defying stunts performed by lead star Tom Cruise.
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“We had a small screening and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack,’” McQuarrie shared. The director’s response to this intense reaction was telling: “And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.’” While McQuarrie didn’t specify which sequence caused such a visceral response, the film’s first trailer showcases several breathtaking stunts, including Ethan Hunt hanging from a biplane and a particularly tense underwater scene that reportedly made even Tom Cruise nervous during filming.
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The early screening reaction aligns with the Mission: Impossible franchise’s reputation for delivering increasingly ambitious action sequences. Since McQuarrie took the helm with Rogue Nation in 2015, each successive installment has aimed to outdo its predecessor. Fallout featured the infamous HALO jump and helicopter chase, while Dead Reckoning showcased Cruise driving a motorcycle off a cliff in what many considered the most dangerous stunt in cinema history.
What to Expect from Ethan Hunt’s Final Reckoning?
The Final Reckoning represents a culmination of plot threads that have been building from the past seven movies. The story picks up where Dead Reckoning left off, with Ethan Hunt and his team racing against time to retrieve the source code of a dangerous AI entity trapped beneath Arctic ice in a sunken Russian submarine. The stakes are higher than ever, with the return of Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane, now elevated to the role of President of the United States, suggesting the mission’s global implications.
The film assembles an impressive ensemble cast alongside Cruise, including returning stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Vanessa Kirby. New additions to the franchise include Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham and Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman, though their specific roles remain under wraps. The presence of Esai Morales as the antagonist Gabriel and Pom Klementieff’s Paris, whose fate was left ambiguous in the previous film, indicates that The Final Reckoning will directly address unresolved plot threads from its predecessor, giving fans some highly-anticipated closure.
While speculation grows about whether this might be Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt, the film’s commitment to practical stunts and intense sequences suggests the franchise isn’t holding anything back. The title itself – The Final Reckoning – has fueled rumors about the possible conclusion of Cruise’s involvement with the series.
Given the franchise’s consistent box office success and Cruise’s dedication to pushing the boundaries of action filmmaking, any definitive end would need to deliver a spectacular sendoff worthy of the series’ legacy. McQuarrie’s comments about the audience’s reaction reflect this need. Beyond just topping previous action scenes, the director appears focused on creating sequences that genuinely affect viewers on a visceral level. Fortunately, it won’t take long to witness the wonders McQuarrie has crafted for Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning hits theaters May 23, 2025.