When you join the Mission: Impossible franchise, there's never a guarantee that you will be able to stick around. Keri Russell was a one-and-done contributor after joining in Mission: Impossible 3. Michelle Monaghan has been popping in and out over the years as Ethan Hunt's soul mate, Julia. And we're still waiting to find out what happened to Jeremy Renner's secret agent. Maybe Hawkeye knows? So even though Rebecca Ferguson turned heads and won hearts as Ilsa Faust in Chris McQuarrie's Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation, the actress recently told CinemaBlend that it was no guarantee that she'd return for Fallout.
Because they can't guarantee it. I think it's very much down to how... I mean, I don't know how it works. I think it is how well [the film] is received. And what people write about it. They might go, 'Who the beep-ing heck is that? Get her out of there!'
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That didn't happen. Quite the opposite. Die-hard Mission: Impossible fans actually loved the chemistry between Ethan Hunt and former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (and the bond between Tom Cruise and Rebecca Ferguson), so Christopher McQuarrie made sure to bring Faust back for the mission in Fallout. Naturally, explaining how Ilsa fits in to this current story would be a big reveal that's better learned in the cinema. But we can tell from the trailers that Ethan's not going to let this woman stand in his way. There's even a moment in the commercials where Ethan runs Ilsa over while he's in a car and she's on a motorcycle in Paris. So yeah, it's complicated.
Ethan and Ilsa teamed up to stop The Syndicate and its leader, Soloman Lane (Sean Harris), in Rogue Nation. But by the end of that movie, their mission was complete. Lane was detained. So it was very possible that Rebecca Ferguson would join the long list of Impossible beauties who only appeared in one film. However, with Chris McQuarrie back in the director's chair, he made sure to write Ilsa Faust back into the mix, and once you see how Fallout plays out, you will understand why that was the right call.
Here is Rebecca Ferguson, on the red carpet at the Paris premiere of Mission: Impossible -- Fallout, talking to CinemaBlend about learning she would return for the sequel.
The entire team is back in action now that Mission: Impossible -- Fallout is preparing to reach theaters. You can read our official review of the new sequel right here. Piece of advice: Grab IMAX tickets for opening weekend, then strap in and enjoy the wild ride.
