Tom Cruise’s dedication to practical stunts reaches new depths in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, with Empire magazine revealing the actor risked hypoxia while filming an intense underwater sequence. The scene, shot in an 8.5 million liter water tank, features Cruise’s Ethan Hunt trapped in the wreckage of the Sevastopol submarine seen in Dead Reckoning Part One. Using specially designed equipment that could only be worn for 10-minute intervals due to oxygen concerns, Cruise once again pushed the boundaries of what’s possible in action filmmaking. The sequence stands as one of the most dangerous stunts in the upcoming installment of the long-running franchise, which arrives in theaters this May.
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The physical demands of the underwater sequence created unprecedented challenges for the production. “I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” Cruise explained, describing how the gas accumulated during filming. “It builds up in the body and affects the muscles.” Despite these physical limitations, the actor emphasizes the importance of maintaining his performance. “You have to overcome all of that while you’re doing it, and be present,” Cruise notes, highlighting how the sequence demanded both physical endurance and emotional authenticity.
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Director Christopher McQuarrie also emphasizes this sequence was “so challenging and so terrifying” to execute. Beyond the physical strain on Cruise, the scene required intricate choreography within a dangerous environment. “He’s in a rotating structure filled with debris, and you had to find a way to make that environment look as chaotic and unhinged as humanly possible,” McQuarrie reveals, “but in a way that you could repeat, and that Tom Cruise could navigate, and survive.”
What We Know About Mission: Impossible‘s Epic Finale
The Final Reckoning serves as the conclusion to the two-part story that began in Dead Reckoning Part One. The plot centers on Ethan Hunt’s team racing to prevent a dangerous AI entity from accessing nuclear launch codes hidden in the Sevastopol submarine, now trapped beneath Arctic ice. The high-stakes narrative brings together threads from across the franchise, with Angela Bassett returning as Erika Sloane, whose new position as President of the United States adds unprecedented political tension to the mission.
The film assembles the franchise’s largest cast to date. Alongside Cruise, returning veterans include Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Vanessa Kirby (The White Widow), with Hayley Atwell’s Grace and Esai Morales (Gabriel) carrying over from Dead Reckoning Part One. As recently revealed, Pom Klementieff’s Paris is also expected to play a key role in the sequel. New additions to the ensemble include Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham and Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman in undisclosed roles.
With its reported $400 million budget, The Final Reckoning promises to deliver the franchise’s most spectacular action sequences yet. Beyond the underwater submarine scenes, the film features elaborate car chases across Arctic ice and aerial stunts involving vintage biplanes. Early marketing materials have highlighted several major set pieces, including a high-speed snowmobile pursuit and what appears to be an avalanche sequence.
Fan speculation about the film’s title and marketing tagline, “Trust me one last time,” suggests this could be Cruise’s final outing as Ethan Hunt. While neither Cruise nor McQuarrie have confirmed these rumors, the epic scope of the production and its position as the culmination of plot threads from previous films indicates The Final Reckoning aims to provide a definitive conclusion to the current era of the franchise. Either way, the film’s ambitious scale and technical innovations, particularly in its underwater sequences, seem poised to set new standards for action filmmaking.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning arrives in theaters on May 23rd. Are you excited about the movie? Do you think the action scenes will be better than Dead Reckoning Part One? Let us know in the comments!
