When will we get to see Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning and what is it about? Those are two questions it seems like we’ve been talking about ever since the credits rolled on Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning in July 2023. And while we still don’t know how things are going to shake out for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, we do know when the upcoming 2025 movie will be hitting the big screen.
If you want to know all there is to know about the movie formerly known as Dead Reckoning – Part 2, come with us as we explore all the nitty-gritty details of the highly-anticipated installment in the popular spy-action franchise. From the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning release date to the explosive first trailer to the massive cast to what’s been said about Tom Cruise’s death-defying stunts, there’s a lot to unpack on this mission, if you choose to accept it.
What Is The Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Release Date?
Unless there are major changes to its release plan, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will open in theaters on May 23, 2025, a little less than two years after its predecessor. This means that Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt will be battling Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch remake for box office supremacy opening weekend.
We shouldn’t, however, overlook the fact that the franchise's next chapter has already had multiple release dates come and go over the years due to delays brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and the domino effect it had on the entertainment industry.
What Is Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning About?
When everything was said and done with the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning ending, Ethan Hunt was left in possession of the key but didn’t know the location of the Entity. Based on that and what we’ve seen from the trailer (more on that next) for the upcoming sequel, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be an international quest to find that missing sub and shut down the AI before it and Gabriel can bring further chaos to the world.
The Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Trailer
After more than a year of speculation and countless articles about Tom Cruise outdoing himself in the stunt department, Paramount Pictures finally gave the world a glimpse at Ethan Hunt’s next adventure with the first Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer. And clocking in at two minutes in length, this exciting, action-packed, dramatic teaser was well worth the wait:
With the return of Angela Bassett’s Erika Sloane (in a new position), the re-emergence of the Mission: Impossible III’s Rabbits Foot device, and so much more, the video has us all a little hyped, if we’re being completely honest. If the movie is half as intense and intriguing as the trailer teases, we’re going to be in for a hell of a ride next May.
The Mission: Impossible 8 Cast
The Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning cast is stacked, even by the franchise’s standards, meaning we’re going to be seeing the return of some iconic characters from over the years, including Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. Let’s catch up with these familiar faces…
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt
Nearly 30 years after first playing on-the-run IMF agent Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible, Tom Cruise is back in action in the upcoming eighth movie in the franchise. But this isn’t Cruise’s only high-profile project, as he’s also in talks for a Top Gun 3.
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell
It’s hard to imagine a Mission: Impossible movie without Ving Rhames’ Luther Stickell, and luckily we won’t have to make that a reality as the prolific hacker will be back by Ethan’s side once again. Now we just need to find out where he went in Dead Reckoning.
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn
Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn has been the premier tech guy for Ethan Hunt’s IMF team for the better part of the past two decades, and he’ll once again be a part of the team when Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning opens.
Hayley Atwell (Grace)
Grace, played by Hayley Atwell, quickly made a name for herself in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and it looks like she’ll be a major aspect of the upcoming movie as well.
Angela Bassett as President Erika Sloane
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis
Alanna Mitsopolis, aka, the White Widow, is one of Vanessa Kirby’s most interesting characters, and we haven’t seen the end of her just yet. The character, who was introduced in Mission: Impossible – Fallout, will once again be part of the story.
Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge
Henry Czerny’s Eugene Kittridge ended Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning with some unfinished business, meaning the returning character from the first film will once again be back up to his old games in the eighth installment.
Esai Morales as Gabriel
Unlike a lot of the Mission: Impossible villains, Esai Morales’ Gabriel survived his encounter with Ethan Hunt in Dead Reckoning, meaning the crafty henchman for the Entity will be coming back for more in the next movie.
Pom Klementieff as Paris
Just months after playing Mantis for potentially the final time in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Pom Klementieff introduced a new and more vicious character, Paris, in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. And while it seemed like the skilled assassin was going to perish in the movie, it looks like she’ll be returning for more action according to Simon Pegg’s Instagram.
Hannah Waddingham
Hannah Waddingham is one of the biggest new additions to the franchise, though it hasn’t been revealed who the Ted Lasso alum will be playing. Waddingham’s involvement was revealed by Deadline back in March 2023, right around the time the Apple TV+ series’ final season was about to kick off.
Holt McCallany as Secretary of Defense Bernstein
In July 2022, Deadline revealed that Holt McCallany, who would go on to star in The Iron Claw, had joined the Mission: Impossible 8 cast as Secretary of Defense Bernstein. This is the latest high-profile role for the Mindhunter star.
Nick Offerman as Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Sydney
Parks and Recreation alum Nick Offerman will also be joining the Mission: Impossible 8 cast, in which he will play Joint Chiefs Of Staff Chairman Sydney. During an August 2022 appearance on the Light the Fuse podcast (via ScreenRant), Offerman said his character was “IMF adjacent.”
Janet McTeer
Janet McTeer will appear in Mission: Impossible 8, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed in a since-deleted August 2022 tweet (via Collider). However, it is not yet known who the Tumbleweeds and Albert Nobbs actress will be playing.
Lucy Tulugarjuk
Inuit actress Lucy Tulugarjuk is also joining the Mission: Impossible 8 cast, according to Empire. However, her character’s identity has not yet been revealed.
Katy O'Brien
In March 2024, Deadline reported that Twisters and Love Lies Bleeding actress Katy O’Brian would be showing up in the upcoming spy action movie but didn’t reveal who she’ll be playing.
Tramell Tillman
Tramel Tillman is going to kick off 2025 with the long-awaited Severance Season 2 on Apple TV+ and the actor will follow that up with a role in Mission: Impossible 8. In April 2024, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Tillman was joining the massive ensemble cast but didn’t let loose any details about his character.
Stephen Oyoung
In July 2024, Deadline reported that Stephen Oyoung, who’s appeared in films like Sicario and Twisters, was joining the growing cast. Still no word on who the actor, who also provided the voice work for Mr. Negative in the recent Spider-Man video games, will be playing.
Production Kicked Off In 2022 And Has Finally Wrapped
Back when Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning were being developed, the plan was to have the movies shot back-to-back. However, several factors prevented that from happening, and Paramount Pictures decided in February 2021 to change those plans, per Deadline. In March 2022, The Hollywood Reporter reported that principal photography had started on the eighth Mission: Impossible movie, but this too would not be without its own setbacks and delays.
Following a break, Tom Cruise and company took the Mission: Impossible 8 shoot to a United States aircraft carrier off the Italian coast in March 2023. However, with the impending release of Dead Reckoning and the promotion tour supporting it, production was temporarily halted in June 2023. This was followed by the biggest delay of them all when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought the entertainment industry to a standstill that summer.
Production would later resume, and in November 2024, THR reported that shooting had finally wrapped and that director Christopher McQuarrie was in the middle of post-production. And now that the first trailer is out, it’s safe to say things are going smoothly.
Mission: Impossible 8 Won’t Be The End Of The Franchise
Back in February 2022, Variety reported that the plan was for the final two movies in the franchise to serve as a send-off for Cruise’s character, but nearly a year-and-a-half later in June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie told Fandango (via Fandango Twitter) that it wasn’t the end, and that he and his team had some ideas for what comes next. What exactly comes next is a mystery, but we do know Glen Powell has no intention of taking over for Tom Cruise in the future.
Christopher McQuarrie Has Teased Mission: Impossible 8's Stunts As Being ‘Outrageous’
From the start, the Mission: Impossible franchise has been one that continues to up the ante when it comes to its stakes and stunts, and it seems like the eighth installment will be no different. When speaking with Empire in June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie hyped the movie as well as one of its stunts, which he described as being “outrageous:”
Tom and I are always trying to get the big shit out of the way first. South Africa was intense. The aerial sequence is… [pause] It’s just outrageous. The thing to remember as you’re watching this monster [a.k.a. Part One] is that another monster waits behind it.
McQuarrie stopped short of revealing what the action sequence entails, but going off what we saw in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (as well as the earlier movies), this is going to be nuts.
When speaking with Business Insider in June 2024, Shea Whigham, who played Jasper Briggs in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, and who will be returning for its upcoming sequel, further hyped up the stunts Cruise has planned. While not giving anything away, the True Detective actor made it seem like what’s coming is more intense than anything that came before:
Tom Cruise does stuff that's gonna make number seven pale in comparison. He's unbelievable in the next one.
And considering Whigham’s character spent pretty much the entirety of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’s runtime chasing Ethan Hunt around the world, the actor is pretty much an expert on insane Tom Cruise stunts at this point.
What Will Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Be Rated?
Considering the previous seven installments in the franchise have received a PG-13 rating, it will likely be the same for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. As much as we would love a rated-R adventure for Tom Cruise’s legendary spy, there’s no way Paramount Pictures would allow for what will surely be one of its Summer 2025 tentpoles to be locked behind a restrictive rating. But we won’t know for sure until the MPA announces its official rating, which should come shortly before the film’s release.
How To Watch Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning And Other M:I Movies
May 2025 will be here before you know it, which means if you want to binge all the Mission: Impossible movies in order before the eighth installment hits the big screen, you should get started. And unlike other franchises, the adventures of Ethan Hunt are easy to watch (all but one of the seven films are streaming for anyone with a Paramount+ subscription).
That said, here’s how to watch all the Mission: Impossible movies, including Dead Reckoning:
- Stream Mission: Impossible on Paramount+.
- Stream Mission: Impossible II on Paramount+.
- Stream Mission: Impossible III on Paramount+.
- Stream Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol on Paramount+.
- Stream Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation on Prime Video.
- Stream Mission: Impossible – Fallout on Paramount+.
- Stream Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning on Paramount+.
Only time will tell what will happen with Ethan Hunt’s story in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, but regardless of what happens, it’s safe to say this is one of the summer blockbusters we’re looking forward to the most. And while we wait, now would be a good time to revisit some other great spy movies from over the years.
