Mission: Impossible Reveals New Look at Long-Awaited Return of One Franchise Character

Mission: Impossible fans have finally gotten a new look at the long-awaited return of a character who played a memorable role in one of the franchise’s most iconic sequences. The latest trailer for this summer’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning includes a moment where Ethan Hunt straps on a mask and seemingly plugs into the Entity. A rapid-fire montage plays, showing what Ethan sees as he’s tapped into the AI program. Two of the images are of William Donloe, the CIA analyst who became the unfortunate target of Ethan’s team during the CIA vault break-in from the original Mission: Impossible. Donloe is seen sporting a full beard and he looks to be concerned or confused about the mysterious visitor to his house.

When watching the trailer at regular speed, these glimpses of Donloe are easy to miss. Check out screenshots of the character’s appearance in the space below:

It’s unknown if Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be the franchise’s last installment, but director Christopher McQuarrie hopes the film serves as a “satisfying conclusion” to the past 30 years of storytelling. Marketing materials have underscored the idea of The Final Reckoning being a culmination for the series, recalling key moments and iconography from the previous movies. In the trailers, Ethan can be seen examining Krieger’s knife from Mission: Impossible.

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Actor Rolf Saxon reprises Donloe in The Final Reckoning, marking his first franchise appearance since the 1996 original. His role in the film is the payoff to a throwaway joke in Mission: Impossible, where Donloe is reassigned to “manning a radar tower in Alaska” as punishment after the vault heist.

Donloe’s inclusion in the film is fascinating, as it illustrates how The Final Reckoning is going to bring things full circle, tracing Ethan’s story back to the very beginning. Since the glimpses of the character in the trailer are very brief and out of context, it’s tricky to say how he’ll fit into the narrative. However, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning could provide some clues. In that film’s opening sequence, the Entity sinks the Russian submarine the Sevastopol in the Arctic Ocean. With Donloe stationed in Alaska, he is nearby the Arctic Ocean, meaning he could cross paths with Ethan and his team as they try to track down the Entity’s source code. Perhaps this time, Ethan will work with Donloe to complete his mission.

If Donloe and Ethan have any interactions in The Final Reckoning, that would be a very interesting dynamic. The U.S. government is well aware Ethan was the one who broke into the CIA vault, so Donloe likely blames Ethan for his current situation. The two could be at odds with each other before setting aside their differences for the greater good. Of course, villain Gabriel is also on the trail for the Entity’s source code and knows where the Sevastopol is, so maybe he’s the one paying an unpleasant visit to Donloe. Even if Donloe doesn’t have the biggest role in The Final Reckoning, whatever McQuarrie has cooked up should be a notable sequence.