Coming hot off the heels of that shocking Dead Reckoning Part 1 cliffhanger, Mission Impossible 8 is on the way.
Set to directly follow up on the events of the last film, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 2, will put Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt on his most dangerous mission yet, as he goes up against the mysterious AI - the Entity - yet again.
The project has been in the midst of filming for the better part of 2023, but it hit a few snags due to the ongoing writers' and actors' strikes in Hollywood.
But with Dead Reckoning Part 2 on the horizon, here is everything to know about Christopher McQuarrie's upcoming super-spy spectacle.
Mission Impossible 8 Release Date: When Will It Come Out?
Mission Impossible 8 was originally set to release on June 28, 2024; however has since been delayed to May 3, 2025 (via Variety).
Production for the film had to come to a halt due to job action in Hollywood amongst both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. This work stoppage is likely the reason for the film's delay.
While the writers are now back to work with the end of their labor dispute coming in early October, production still cannot recommence on the film as SAG members are still striking.
Before filming came to a stop, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed in an interview with Collider that the movie was about 40% done. He remarked that they had "shot all but one of our international locations" and had "shot our big action except for the biggest set piece, the central set piece of the film:"
"We've shot all but one of our international locations. We’ve shot our big action except for the biggest set piece, the central set piece of the film, which is massive and unlike anything we've done, and, I think, unlike anything you've seen."
He added that the plan is currently to "be wrapped for all principal photography is early next year:"
All the interstitial stuff is shot. There are characters in the movie you don't even know about yet. And I have one—how would I call it? It's a sidebar action sequence involving the team, which we haven't shot yet, and that's first up as soon as we get back. It's involving elements that I've never worked with before. It's a big challenge, and it's a tight schedule. The plan to be wrapped for all principal photography is early next year."
Mission Impossible 8 Cast: Who Will Return?
Given Mission Impossible 8 is a true part two, fans can expect many of Mission Impossible 7's cast to be back for more in the upcoming sequel.
This list of characters and actors includes:
Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
As long as there have been Mission Impossible movies, there has been Tom Cruise taking on the starring role of super-spy IMF Agent Ethan Hunt. After collecting both pieces of the cruciform key and evading the villainous Gabriel, Cruise's Hunt will set out to find the missing Sevastopol submarine and take down the AI known as the Entity once and for all.
Mission Impossible 8 will include Cruise's most dangerous M:I stunt yet, according to McQuarrie: "We've pushed ourselves even further in Part Two, and you'll see. It's terrifying." All signs point to this "outrageous" stunt being an "aerial sequence" in South Africa.
Hayley Atwell - Grace
New recruit Grace (played by Hayley Atwell) will almost surely be back in Mission Impossible 8. This former master thief was last seen 'accepting her mission' as a recruit to the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), after palling along with Ethan and his IMF team on an adventure that included an epic Rome car chase and dangling from a hanging train.
Simon Pegg - Benji Dunn
Since Mission: Impossible 3, British comedian Simon Pegg has brought his signature brand of humor to the franchise as Benji Dunn. Benji has grown a lot since fans first met the daring IMF tech expert, going from Ethan Hunt's 'guy in the chair' to a full-blown field agent.
Ving Rhames - Luther Stickwell
Another IMF mainstay since the very beginning has been Ving Rhames' Luther Stickell. While he may be built like a brick house (and can definitely hold his own in a fight), Luther is actually both the head and heart of the team, keeping Ethan in check while devising some pretty incredible tech solutions for whatever mission may be thrown his way.
Esai Morales - Gabriel
Making his franchise debut in Dead Reckoning Part 1, Esai Morales' Gabriel popped back up into Ethan Hunt's life, this time as a devout follower of the ever-evolving AI, the Entity. While Gabriel escaped from the events of Mission Impossible 7 unscathed, he did so without the cruciform keys he thought he had snagged during that film's climatic train set piece. Surely, he will be hot Ethan and company's tail as they seek to shut the Entity down once and for all.
Vanessa Kirby - Alanna Mitsopolis/The White Widow
Operating in the grey area of international law in the world of Mission Impossible is Vanessa Kirby's Alanna Mitsopolis (aka The White Widow). Kirby's striking Brit is both a well-known philanthropist and a renowned black-market arms dealer. After being sedated and impersonated by Hayley Atwell's Grace at the end of the last film, the White Widow will likely be back ready for vengeance against Ethan and his team.
Pom Klementieff - Paris
MCU alum Pom Klementieff (who audiences will know from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise) made her debut as the bloodthirsty assassin, Paris in Mission Impossible 7. And despite spending most of that movie trying to take down Ethan Hunt, she came around in the end, providing Ethan with the location of the Entity's source code.
Henry Czerny - Agent Eugene Kittridge
Nearly 30 years since his last franchise appearance, Henry Czerny's Eugene Kittridge came back into the MI fray in Mission Impossible 7. After the IMF handler failed to secure the cruciform key for the American government, it remains unknown if he will just let Ethan and his team operate on their own, or if he will meddle to further his own interests yet again.
Shea Whigham - Jasper Briggs
In another corner of the cat-and-mouse game that made up Mission Impossible 7 was a pair of secret agents led by Shea Whigham's Jasper Briggs. Briggs and his partner Degas were tasked by the mysterious Community with bringing down Ethan Hunt at all costs.
Greg Tarzan Davis - Degas
Secret agent partner to Shea Whigham's Jasper Briggs is Greg Tarzan Davis' Degas. While Jasper is all in on the mission to capture Ethan Hunt, Degas was less committed, admitting that he sees that despite the convoluted means to get there, perhaps Ethan has good intentions with the power of the Entity.
Is Jeremy Renner in Mission: Impossible 8?
After being MIA in both Mission: Impossible - Fallout and Dead Reckoning Part 1, it remains unknown if Jeremy Renner's William Brandt will be back for Part 2.
Renner starred in Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation and was even - at one point - being set up to take the Mission IMpossible torch from Tom Cruise. But his character has not been heard from since Mission Impossible 5, which released nearly a decade ago.
The actor could not make it into Fallout because "Jeremy had his commitment to Avengers" according to director Christopher McQuarrie (via Empire). The director even seemingly offered to give the actor a send-off in the franchise, with Renner's Brandt sacrificing himself in an early version of Fallout's opening.
However, that did not happen and the Hawkeye actor remains one of the many loose ends within the Mission Impossible franchise.
There is always the chance that Brandt pops back up in Dead Reckoning Part 2, but with the character having now been absent for two straight movies, it feels as though the ship has sailed for his return.
Will Mission Impossible 8 Be The Last One?
When Dead Reckoning was initially pitched to audiences by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, the two-parter was touted as the end of Ethan Hunt's story and (seemingly) the Mission Impossible franchise.
That could still very well be the case, but recently that sentiment has been put into doubt.
In June 2023, McQuarrie told Fandango that Dead Reckoning Part 1 and 2 will not be the end of the series and that he and Cruise both have ideas of where the franchise could go beyond the eighth film.
This is in line with Cruise's recent comments. During the Dead Reckoning Part I promotional run, while speaking with Sydney Morning Herald the Ethan Hunt actor compared himself to Harrison Ford, remarking that he "hope[s] to keep making Mission: Impossible films until [he's] his age."
Given that Ford is 81 years old, that would mean Cruise has plans to continue working within the franchise at least for the next 20 years.
What Will Happen in Mission Impossible 8?
No official synopsis for Mission Impossible 8 has been made public, but given where the last film left off, fans can glean where the upcoming sequel is headed.
After going up against Esai Morales' Gabriel in Dead Reckoning Part 1, Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and co. will likely come face-to-face with the true antagonist of this duology, the Entity in the upcoming sequel.
This data-distorting AI has been described as all-powerful, giving whoever possesses it access to the most powerful digital weapon the world has ever seen.
As the first Dead Reckoning film was much about getting the keys to access the Entity, and figuring out how to even begin to take down the digital presence, the sequel will be more about actually taking the AI down.
Part 1 saw Ethan and his team come into possession of both the location of the Entity's source code (the sunken Russian submarine known as the Sevastopol) and the keys with which to access it. So, MI8 will almost surely be a race across the globe to discover the exact location of the Sevastopol and pull apart the Entity before it can cause any further chaos.
Will Ethan Hunt make it out of this dive into the Crimean Sea alive? That remains to be seen.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 2 is currently set to release on May 3, 2024.
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