The marketing campaign forMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoninghas begun, and it heavily hints toward Tom Cruise’s franchise ending with the eighth installment. Despite the franchise’s upward trajectory and incredible overall quality with the recent films, debates about when theMission: Impossiblefranchise could end have raged for years. That became an even bigger conversation whenMission: Impossible 7 & 8were announced as back-to-back productions with a two-part narrative, with reports suggesting thatTom Cruise’s days of playing Ethan Hunt could be limited. That positionedMission: Impossible 8as the final installment potentially.
The culminating possibilities that exist withMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoninggive Paramount a chance to really lean into the franchise conclusion angle with the film’s marketing campaign. Now that the firstMission: Impossible 8trailerhas been released, how the studio plans to market the film to audiences has become clear. Whereas franchises likeStar Warsand the MCU have marketed films as theatrical events that are the end to a saga,Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis signaling that this will be the final installment for Tom Cruise’s franchise - even if it’s not.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning’s Title Hints The Franchise Ending
The confirmation ofMission: Impossible 8’s titleis the biggest sign yet that the franchise as we know it is ending. Paramount originally planned for the film to be calledMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two, but the performance ofPart Onebrought news that a title change was coming. The studio, Cruise, and director Christopher McQuarrie settled onMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The connection toDead Reckoningis clear still, butthe decision to use “Final” instead of “Dead” again is notable.
It is surely the studio and filmmaker’s desire to have audiences believe thatMission: Impossible 8is the final entry in the franchise with this title choice. They could have chosen any word or phrasing that left the franchise’s and Cruise’s future a bit more open. Electing to go withThe Final Reckoningis a clear signal to all potential viewers that this movie is the last, final, concluding, ultimate ending for the franchise. That feeling is apparent from the title alone without knowing anything aboutMission: Impossible 8’s story or seeing any footage.
Mission: Impossible 8’s Teaser Trailer Plays Up The Final Installment Possibility
As if the title wasn’t a big enough sign of the franchise’s looming conclusion,Mission: Impossible 8’s trailer takes it a step further. The epic teaser does not shy away from moments or dialogue that play up the idea that this is the final adventure for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt.At the very end of the footage,Hunt says,“I need you to trust me, one last time,“to someone off-camera. That’s possibly an acknowledgment from Ethan that this is his last impossible mission.
There is a chance that the trailer is misleading viewers in some regard with this line. It could be directed toward whoever he’s talking to being able to walk away after trusting him again or the last step in his plan to stopThe Entity and Gabriel, but that’s not the reason the trailer uses it.The Final Reckoning’s trailer uses this line and others, like Kittridge saying,“Everything you were, everything you’ve done has come to this,“to create a narrative that this is the end for Cruise, for Hunt, and possibly for the franchise overall.
The Final Reckoning Is The Last Confirmed Mission: Impossible Movie
For what it’s worth,Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis the last confirmed movie in the franchise at this moment. Paramount has never put the cart before the horse with this franchise and had sequels in development before the current installment is over, withThe Final Reckoningbeing the lone exception ironically.There has been no official discussion ofMission: Impossible 9happeningor any spinoff movies that could continue the franchise after the eighth installment.
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This does not mean thatMission: Impossibleis definitively ending afterThe Final Reckoning. It simply means that neither Paramount nor Cruise have definitively said that another movie is coming. That falls in line with how the franchise has been handled in the past, but the future beyond those previous installments was always a bit more clear.The Final Reckoning’s title and trailer are major hints that this could be the endif that is what the studio and Cruise decide is best for the franchise.
What Tom Cruise Has Said About Mission: Impossible’s Future After Final Reckoning
Since the reports aboutMission: Impossible 8ending the franchise have been around for some time, there have been several opportunities for Cruise to address the franchise’s future. One came aroundDead Reckoning’s release, whereCruise teasedMission: Impossible 9as the franchise star shared his desire to keep playing Ethan Hunt for decades to come. He shared his praise for Harrison Ford’s tenure as Indiana Jones and how he played the iconic adventurer into his 80s. With Cruise 20 years younger,he said,“I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible filmsuntil I’m his age.”
Cruise would be understandably hesitant to walk away from a lucrative and beloved role for good
This is not a surprising sentiment for Cruise to have. He’s been driven by franchises over most of his career, andMission: Impossibleremains his biggest and longest. He might have various other projects and franchises looming to replaceMission: ImpossibleifThe Final Reckoningis the end, but Cruise would be understandably hesitant to walk away from a lucrative and beloved role for good. If he does plan to keep playing Ethan Hunt until he’s Harrison Ford’s age inIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,he could do another trilogy or twobefore then.
Why The Final Reckoning Is Unlikely To Be The Last Mission: Impossible Movie
As much as Paramount and Cruise might want to marketThe Final Reckoningas the final installment of the franchise, that idea is ultimately difficult to believe for a number of reasons. What that would mean for Cruise’s career is one of the biggest. He’s the ultimate daredevil with stunts and wants to entertain audiences on the big screen at every chance he can. While theMission: Impossiblemovies require a lot of time to make as a result, the quality of the finished product makes them worth it. It’d be a risk for Cruise to leave that behind.
Tom Crusie and Paramount do have Top Gun 3 in development
There’s also the Paramount side of theMission: Impossiblefranchise to consider. While Cruise is now an icon for the series, it is ultimately an IP for Paramount to mine and grow. The overall success of the franchise is undeniably tied to Cruise’s involvement, but if he’s ready to walk away,there is no reason to believe that Paramount will retire theMission: Impossiblefranchise in its entirety. There are other characters who could lead new films or an entirely new cast could be brought in as part of a soft reboot.
UnlessMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis another box office disappointment,audiences can count on seeing another movie in the franchise at some point- with or without Cruise. The fact that the eighth film is being marketed as the conclusion, though, should help negate that possibility. Whereas audiences may have been more willing to wait to seeDead Reckoningas a part one,Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningshould be a massive cinematic event with the narrative of it possibly ending the series and Cruise’s tenure.
