Mission: Impossible's Christopher McQuarrie Reveals Which Franchise Stunt Was the Scariest

By Nathaniel Brail

Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One will be arriving in theaters next weekend, and fans of the franchise are really excited to see where Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) goes next. Early reactions for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One praise its nonstop action, and it has easily earned the spot as Cruise's highest-rated movie ever. From everything we've seen in the trailers, Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One is definitely one of the most action-packed films in the series, and it looks like they have leveled up the stunts. In a new interview with Collider, director Christopher McQuarrie has opened up about doing the stunts in the franchise and revealed which stunt was the most frightening.

"I would say they probably go in chronological order. Only because when we were doing Rogue Nation and we were doing the A400, it was really my first time directing anything like that," McQuarrie said of directing stunts in the Mission: Impossible franchise. It was obviously Tom's first time doing anything like that. And everything you are seeing, every movie you're watching, is Tom and I applying our knowledge from the previous movies to the next one and pushing it a little bit further. So the motorcycle jump in this film, for example, is taking all of the motorcycle stunts from Rogue Nation, taking the BASE jumping from Fallout, and applying them to the same stunt. They're all just, in order of magnitude, scarier. If you just follow them in order, each one is scarier for me and more of an unknown because we're just pushing ourselves that much further. And I can tell you there's stuff coming in [Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two] that is beyond anything we've done.

"For me personally, the scariest thing we ever did was the helicopter chase in Fallout, for the simple fact that I had to be in a helicopter chasing after Tom [laughs]. So there's the added factor of my own life [being] at risk. When you're watching Tom go off the bike ramp, I'm there, I'm definitely watching my life flash before my eyes as well as his, but I also know in the event of anything terrible, I'm still going to be there. So I would have to say probably number one scariest, most stressful was the helicopter chase in Fallout just because I was there." The Mission: Impossible director added.

What's going on in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One?

Tom Cruise is back as the iconic action hero Ethan Hunt in the seventh installment, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which is set to make its way into theaters next week. It's the beginning of the end for the action-packed franchise, as Cruise reteams with longtime collaborator and director 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.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is set to roll into theaters on July 12th with a sequel, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, already filming and expected to hit theaters on June 28, 2024, but could wind up being delayed due to the ongoing WGA strike. Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for all updates on the Mission: Impossible franchise as we learn them!

What do you think about Christopher McQuarrie's comments? Are you excited to see Tom Cruise's latest stunts in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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