How pumped am I to see the upcoming 2025 movie Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning? Well, if it helps sell the steak, the degree to which I am stoked, primed and/or jazzed at Tom Cruise’s potential era-ending finale is so great that I’ve been flipping out over every little piece of info I’ve seen. Now that the man of the hour has given us a taste of some underwater filming, I think I’m going to need to revise those projections to trend even further upward.
Ever ready to give his fans a look at what’s to come, Mr. Cruise has shared a look so enigmatic that he doesn’t even mention the latest Mission: Impossible movie by name. Of course, you don’t need to be an IMF agent to know that this comes from The Final Reckoning’s production cycle, as you can see in the photo below:
Sweet Margaret and Uncle Donald, that is a tease. Which is saying something considering Mission: Impossible 8’s first teaser haas shared a lot of intriguing glimpses into what to look out for. Shown in the our first big look at the May 2025 release, we see shots of Cruise's intrepid agent floating in a frozen sea, wearing nothing but those black shorts shown in the scene above.
That very footage, combined with this photo of Tom Cruise chilling underwater, has me thinking that this stunt involves Ethan Hunt either breaking into or out of The Sevastopol - the Russian sub that doubles as the current home of the AI menace known as “The Entity.”
That moment also feels like it’s the point in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning where Ethan seems to be saved by a very important kiss of life. As you’ll see in the screenshot below, it looks like our beloved American spy could be revived by, among other candidates, the spirit of the dearly departed Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson).
But feel free to spin other theories after taking a look for yourself:
Circling back to the realm of reality, I have to think that this is Tom Cruise’s way of competing not only with himself, but also an unexpected competitor. Let’s not forget that Cruise’s six minute dive for a Rogue Nation stunt was more recently surpassed by Kate Winslet’s Avatar 2 underwater dive time of a little over seven minutes. I hardly think that this is a rivalry of any sorts, but rather a friendly challenge, especially after Ms. Winslet’s good-natured joke about Mr. Cruise being tired of hearing this story.
Of course, the only person Tom Cruise seriously competes with in his mind is probably himself. With his support of the movie industry and the cinematic experience, the man always seems ready to push himself harder on every mission. Seeing as we don’t have an inkling on what the centerpiece stunt for Mission: Impossible 8 may be, perhaps this new photo is the first indication that we too will be holding our breath during this picture’s story.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning shows us the sum of Ethan Hunt’s choices, only in theaters, on May 23, 2025. All other agents who are looking to debrief on the storied history of the IMF should obtain access to a Paramount+ subscription; as almost every Ethan Hunt adventure is available on that platform. Which means that you too can begin to once again freak out about what we need to know about the Rabbit’s Foot.
