A new official listing for Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning shockingly did not include one fan-favorite franchise star.
After seeing the best critical response ever for the Mission: Impossible franchise in 2023, the series hopes to end on a high note with Final Reckoning in July. Reports have indicated that this will be Tom Cruise's last adventure as Ethan Hunt, finishing a 29-year journey with the iconic action hero.
Next to Cruise will be a star-studded cast of Hollywood's biggest names, including franchise veterans and high-profile newcomers. However, only a month before its debut, the film's official cast list now appears to be one big name short.
Mission: Impossible Star Missing the Cut on Final Reckoning Cast List
The official synopsis page for Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning from the Mission: Impossible website omitted Vanessa Kirby's name from the cast list. This has led some fans to believe Kirby's character, Alanna Mitsopolis (the White Widow), will not make it out of this movie alive.
Kirby became a fan-favorite in this series through her work as the White Widow starting in 2018's Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Alanna was revealed as the daughter of the original Mission: Impossible villain, Vanessa Redgrave's Max, with Kirby's character being a secretive illegal arms dealer and money launderer.
During Kirby's last appearance in Mission: Impossible 7, the film ended with Hayley Atwell's Grace impersonating Alanna to obtain the second half of a key used to access The Entity. While the Widow is recovering from being tranquilized, it is revealed that she is working with IMF director Eugene Kittridge and the CIA as part of a longstanding deal with her mother.
What Will Happen to Vanessa Kirby in Mission: Impossible - Final Reckoning?
With Mission: Impossible 8 being the final film in the franchise (barring any changes), none of its main characters can be considered safe from being killed off. Taking this into account, and looking at Kirby's absence from the cast list, the chances of the White Widow's story ending early cannot be ignored.
Currently, there are no confirmed plot details for this sequel outside of Ethan Hunt and his team trying to stop Kittridge and Gabriel from accessing The Entity. However, particularly after Mission: Impossible 7 featured Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust meeting her end, the franchise's trend of not being afraid to take risks.
The only question moving forward is whether Tom Cruise and Paramount will officially make the eighth movie the final one, as Cruise has openly admitted he will play Ethan Hunt for as long as he can.
Now, after a number of delays to Mission: Impossible 8's debut, the sequel ranks as one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. With the end of the franchise seemingly on the horizon, there is sure to be plenty of action and drama to go around for Cruise and co. throughout its nearly three-hour runtime.
Mission: Impossoble - Final Reckoning will debut in theaters on Friday, May 23.
