Advertisement
Tom Cruise makes a high-octane return as Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, and while fans are bracing themselves for what’s believed to be his last outing as the iconic IMF agent, the cast isn’t ready to seal that fate just yet. Although the title suggests finality, there’s a quiet undercurrent of maybe not quite running through the conversations around the film.
At the Cannes Film Festival, Cruise sidestepped the big question—whether this was truly the last Mission Impossible installment—by focusing instead on the film itself. “Just let us show the movie tonight,” he said, emphasizing the culmination of 30 years of effort rather than confirming any closure.
The rest of the cast didn’t seem much more definitive. Angela Bassett, who plays CIA director Erika Sloane, was confident that Cruise’s energy and appetite for spectacle are far from exhausted. “With Mr. Cruise, you can never count him down or out,” she said. “He’s always up for an amazing adventure and to give the audience exactly what they’re craving.”
Simon Pegg, who returns as field agent Benji Dunn, echoed that sentiment with a diplomatic “never say never,” adding that Cruise doesn’t seem to like the idea of finality. In his words, even if nothing follows The Final Reckoning, it ends in a way that feels open, offering audiences the comfort of possibility rather than a hard goodbye.
Hayley Atwell, meanwhile, acknowledged that the movie offers a “satisfying end” to the franchise but immediately countered that with praise for Cruise’s relentless drive, stating, “This is who he is.” In other words, if anyone can bring back a supposedly finished franchise, it’s Tom Cruise.
While the film is being positioned as the end of an era, no one—from cast to Cruise himself—is quite ready to shut the door entirely. For now, The Final Reckoning is playing in theatres, offering what may—or may not—be the last mission for Ethan Hunt.