Fans of Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible franchise were left with a lot of questions regarding what’s going to happen next as Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One ended and the wait for Part Two began. While we don't know much about the upcoming sequel, we do know the franchise's star had to wear a wig for reshoots for M:I 7, and I think this may be a bit of a spoiler for M:I 8.
As is the case in most Mission: Impossible movies, the world is dealing with an imminent threat that only the IMF can stop. One would expect that Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two would pick up right where Part One left off, as the threat was not stopped. However, that may not be the case if we read a bit into the events surrounding the end of production on the first movie. Director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that Tom Cruise had to wear a wig during some reshoots for the first movie, some of which took place in Tom Cruise's garage, because they were already filming the second part when the reshoots took place. But that means that Ethan Hunt’s hair is going to be significantly different in next year’s film.
This would seem to indicate that Dead Reckoning Part Two won’t pick up immediately after the end of Part One, but instead, there will be a time jump, and a fairly significant one, as it will need to be long enough to explain why Ethan Hunt’s hair has changed. Tom Cruise has gone back and forth between short hair and longer hair within the Mission: Impossible franchise. So, it won’t be the first time Ethan Hunt has decided to grow his hair out, assuming that’s what is going to happen here, because the actor currently has longer hair.
Of course, the apparent time jump itself leads to several questions. What exactly has been happening in the period between the two movies? Has time passed because things have been quiet and nothing much has happened? Ethan Hunt did prevent the bad guys from getting what they were after in the Dead Reckoning Part One ending, and maybe that’s enough to keep chaos at bay for some period of time. Or will we be jumping into a world that is already in chaos and finding Ethan Hunt in a very different place than where we left him?
Christopher McQuarrie certainly isn’t going to include a time jump for no reason at all, he clearly had a plan going into all this. So, there’s a method to it all. Perhaps when we see the first trailers for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two it will all make sense. But, for now, with this news about Curise's wig for M:I 7 reshoots, I can't help but think we should expect a time jump in M:I 8.
