As Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 both feel like they’re starting to draw the Ethan Hunt saga to a close, writer/director Christopher McQuarrie has been bringing back ghosts from the IMF super agent’s past. Returning figures like Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge from the 1996 original only prove that point, as Tom Cruise’s iconic character is about to make his way through what could be his greatest, and final, mission. With the door wide open for pretty much anyone to return, one has to wonder if Mission: Impossible star Kristen Scott Thomas would be keen on returning herself.
During the press day for Apple TV+’s dark espionage comedy Slow Horses, I had the privilege of speaking with Thomas, who plays the exacting Diana Taverner in this new series. Returning to the world of spies and state secrets, Kristen Scott Thomas finds herself higher up the food chain this time, as her MI5 gig doesn’t send her out into the field much. Which might work to the favor of Mission: Impossible fans, as she told CinemaBlend the following:
Well now you’ve planted an idea in my head. I love doing things that are outside my kind of [wheelhouse.] Throughout my career, I’ve done an awful lot of smoking cigarettes and drinking champagne. So anything that is outside of that, I’m terribly excited about it. So yeah, why not? That’s what’s so great about movies, is that it’s all invented. It’s not real.
Right about now, anyone who’s seen director Brian de Palma’s Mission: Impossible film probably seems a bit confused. That’s because, sadly, Kristen Scott Thomas’ IMF agent Sarah Davies was stabbed to death in the beginning of the film and hasn’t been mentioned since. By all conventional knowledge, Sarah should be dead and gone, and after what you’ll see in the clip below, you can see why:
“Conventional knowledge” kind of went out the window recently when Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 writer/director Christopher McQuarrie made some interesting comments. Addressing the question of whether or not Henry Cavill’s Mission: Impossible - Fallout turncoat August Walker could return, McQuarrie basically said that availability can trump death with the right motivation. Which means that if a man that got a hook to the head from a falling helicopter has a chance of returning, Kristen Scott Thomas’s character merely getting stabbed would put her in a plausible lane for return.
Which leads to the most intriguing possibility for the future of Mission: Impossible. Upon being introduced to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his team, he’s paired up with Sarah Davies for his portion of the mission. Sarah’s death happens at the hand of a rogue IMF agent who’s working with IMF mission commander-turned-traitor Jim Phelps (Jon Voight). What if the next two movies confirms the theory that The Syndicate has been waging war since the first Mission: Impossible, and the person now at the head of the table is Sarah Davies herself?
There’s still a possibility that maybe Sarah’s resurgence could be as an ally in Tom Cruise’s final hour of need. If that's the case case, Kristen Scott Thomas would be back in the field, still able to kick ass for the name of all that is righteous. At the moment, this is all speculation, as Mission: Impossible 8 currently in production, with a pretty massive budget. Then again, if a last-minute submarine and a potential resurrection of Henry Cavill are possible, so’s the return of Kristen Scott Thomas for one last ride.
Mission: Impossible 7 is in the can and slated for release on July 14, 2024, to be followed on June 28, 2024 by Mission: Impossible 8. In the meantime, Apple TV+ subscribers can watch Kristen Scott Thomas match wits with Gary Oldman on Slow Horses, as the first two episodes have been released this weekend. To check out what other cinematic missions you can choose to accept in 2022, check out our listing of upcoming movies, which won’t explode in five seconds.
