This article was originally published on ActioNewz.com.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning arrives in theaters later this week, but is it worth sticking around through the credits? Post-credits scenes are the norm in the MCU, and many franchises now take their cues from Marvel Studios.
Even at 62, Tom Cruise is showing no signs of slowing down, and it's no secret that he wishes to keep the door open to playing Ethan Hunt again (he reportedly clashed with Paramount Pictures over the studio's decision to promote this movie as his last).
Despite that, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning doesn't have any post-credits scenes. Of course, you can always watch them to see the names of everyone who worked hard to make the movie a reality.
This isn't overly surprising, as no Mission: Impossible movie has included a stinger. However, Dead Reckoning Part One did include The Entity’s distorted groan at the very end of the credits, setting up this sequel (which was then titled Dead Reckoning Part Two).
Back in February, Cruise was asked about the possibility of this movie being the end of the line for Ethan Hunt. You gotta see the movie [Laughs]. It’s a hard thing for me to discuss at the moment, because it really is something that you have to experience." He'd add that The Final Reckoning is "an epic, emotional journey of the entire franchise... It’s Homeric."
Filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie was also reluctant to confirm or deny anything. "It is, I hope, the satisfying conclusion to a 30-year story arc," he teased. "I’m pretty confident that people are going to feel that the title was appropriate."
It's been widely reported that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning's budget ballooned to upwards of $400 million due to delays caused by 2023's Hollywood strikes, meaning it will likely need to gross close to $1 billion to turn a substantial profit.
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning earned $571.1 million, so only time will tell whether marketing this as the end of the line for the IMF agent has paid off for Paramount Pictures. Either way, The Final Reckoning's box office haul will be what dictates whether another movie happens, so it makes sense that a post-credits scene wasn't included to tease a follow-up that may not be made.
"Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning," reads the brief synopsis for the movie.
Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Frederick Schmidt.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning arrives in theaters on May 23, 2025.