Tom Cruise will be running through theaters soon with the long-awaited Mission: Impossible 8 sequel. Here’s everything we know about The Final Reckoning.
Over seven films and 30 years, Tom Cruise has been running across the world like a fool as IMF Agent Ethan Hunt, performing highly dangerous quests and equally audacious stunts. After 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which was billed as a double-header, ended on a major cliffhanger, fans were left waiting on pins and needles. Finally, we can relax, as the long-awaited sequel returns in 2025, boasting a new title. Here’s everything we know about Mission: Impossible 8 – The Final Reckoning.
The plot of Mission: Impossible 8 – Dead Reckoning Part Two
Following Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan and his IMF team aim to outpace antagonist Gabriel (Esai Morales, of Master Gardener) in a race to locate “The Entity”, specifically the submarine holding its secrets. While official plot details remain mum so close to its release date, a new teaser trailer was dropped during the Super Bowl. In addition to giving us a look back at some of the franchise’s most thrilling moments, it also reveals enough sequel footage so we can speculate what to expect from the upcoming action flick. And it proves to us one crucial fact … okay, two: Tom Cruise is, indeed, still running, and he’s still hanging from airplanes.
In MI7, we saw Ethan go to extremely ridiculous lengths in chasing a foe from his past and a rogue A.I. dubbed “The Entity” in an effort to secure a crucial key, which unlocks a chamber inside a high-tech Russian submarine named Sevastapol. Inside the chamber is The Entity’s source code, which can be used to help destroy it. The IMF team will likely dedicate much of Mission: Impossible 8 to locating the sub and completing the mission before other interested parties can obtain and weaponize it, and before it’s too late.
Additionally, the long-awaited sequel will have to address other lingering mysteries. First, who was Marie (Mariela Garriga, of Bloodline) and what was her relationship with Ethan? In MI7, Gabriel kills Marie right in front of Ethan in a flashback set 30 years prior, which incentivized Ethan to join the IMF. So, who, exactly, was she?
Secondly, where did Luther (Ving Rhames) disappear to with the hard drive containing a piece of the villainous Entity, and thirdly, why is Jasper Briggs (Shea Whigham, of American Primeval) so intent on bringing Ethan in? The fact that his surname is the same as the founder and first leader of the IMF team in the Mission: Impossible TV series, Dan Briggs, could be a big ole clue in itself, one we’ll just have to wait and see.
In an installment of an interview with Michael Rosenbaum on “Inside of You”, Simon Pegg hinted at the scale of the latest installment: “It’s bananas. It’s absolutely bananas. What [Tom Cruise] does in this one, it boggles the mind. I think this [movie] is the best one ever. And I’m not just saying that…”.
So, while changes in title, high-flying stunts, and a mix of familiar and new cast members add to the anticipation, the plot deets remain behind sealed lips. Despite this, Mission: Impossible 8 is still expected to deliver the heart-pounding action it’s known for and continue the legacy of the MI franchise.
The cast of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Tom Cruise will reprise his role as Ethan Hunt … no shocker there. Likewise, his team will all reprise their roles as well: Ving Rhames, of The Instigators, as Luther, Simon Pegg, of The Boys, as Benji, and Hayley Atwell, of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, as Grace. Vanessa Kirby, of The Crown, will also be returning as The White Widow, Esai Morales as Gabriel, Pom Klementieff, of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as Paris, Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs, Angela Bassett, of the Black Panther trilogy, as Erika Sloane, Henry Czerny, of Scream VI, as Eugene Kittridge, and Rolf Saxon, of August Falls, as William Donloe.
Also confirmed are new cast members Nick Offerman, of The Last of Us, Katy O’Brian, of Twisters, Tramell Tillman, of Severance, Hannah Waddingham, of Ted Lasso, Lucy Tulugarjuk, of What We See, Janet McTeer, of Kaos, and Holt McCallany, of The Iron Claw.
One cast member who is unlikely to return to Mission: Impossible 8 is Rebecca Ferguson, of Silo, whose character Ilsa Faust was killed in Mission: Impossible 7.
Why was the Dead Reckoning Part Two title changed?
While there’s no concrete reason for the change in Mission: Impossible 8’s title, there is plenty of speculation in the air. For starters, Dead Reckoning Part One did not achieve the box office success that Paramount hoped it would, so box office underperformance could be one reason the title changed from Dead Reckoning Part Two to The Final Reckoning.
The Part One subtitle limited the audience of the seventh Mission: Impossible installment and its direct sequel by establishing an unnecessary direct connection between the two films. With its Part One and Part Two subtitles, the seventh and eighth installments became inextricably tied to each other. So, when Part One became a box office failure, it spelled doom in big, bold capital letters for the sequel, whose subtitle actually limited its potential audience only to people who saw Part One.
Another reason could be that the hit action franchise is wrapping up, signaling the end of the current Ethan Hunt’s story arc, though this has not been confirmed in any way, shape, or form.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Paramount Pictures wants to market The Final Reckoning as the last Mission: Impossible movie, whereas Cruise is not on board with that idea. Therefore, it seems like Paramount and Cruise compromised and landed on an ambiguous title.
While Final Reckoning could be the last Mission: Impossible movie, it doesn’t mean that it is, or that it has to be at all. Instead, it’s more likely that Paramount Pictures initiated the title change to alter the franchise’s well-worn formula and restore its lost momentum.
The release date for Mission: Impossible 8
Mission: Impossible 8 – The Final Reckoning will be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on May 23, 2025. It will be released in Ireland and the U.K. on May 21. The premiere date was previously set for June 2024 but was pushed back by almost a year by Paramount. When the long-awaited sequel to MI7 drops, it will do so 29 years after the release of the original Mission: Impossible, ranking it among the longest-running, most consistent action franchises ever.
The trailer for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Mission: Impossible 8 – The Final Reckoning will be released in U.S. and Canadian theaters on May 23, 2025 and in UK and Irish cinemas on May 21. Read our list of all Mission: Impossible movies ranked from worst to best!
