Is MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING The End For Ethan Hunt? Tom Cruise, Chris McQuarrie Weigh In

With rumours swirling that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning will bring an end to Ethan Hunt's adventures, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie have weighed in on whether this is really the end.

News

By JoshWilding - Feb 07, 2025 08:02 AM EST

Filed Under: Mission: Impossible

Source: Empire (via ActioNewz.com)

For whatever reason, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One wasn't the hit we expected in 2023. The movie grossed $570.6 million worldwide on a reported $291 million budget, meaning it was considered a financial disappointment by Paramount Pictures.

Tom Cruise reportedly clashed with studio executives while shooting that and the upcoming Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The movie is being marketed as the actor's final turn as Ethan Hunt (which seems likely now the actor has signed a deal with Warner Bros.). However, Cruise is said to be unhappy about that as he wants to at least keep the door open to returning.

If James Bond can die (which he did in No Time to Die), is the clock counting down on Hunt?

Talking to Empire Online (via ActioNewz.com), Cruise said, "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 told the site. "I’m pretty confident that people are going to feel that the title was appropriate."

Rumour has it Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning's budget has rocketed to $400 million amid various production delays, largely caused by 2023's Hollywood strikes. That's going to make it one of the most expensive blockbusters ever made so here's hoping it ends up being the fitting send-off Cruise and McQuarrie are hyping up.

A new still from Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has been released which you can check out in the X post below.

EXCLUSIVE 💥

Is #MissionImpossible – The Final Reckoning the final time we will be seeing Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt?

“You gotta see the movie,” the star teases. “I’m pretty confident that people are going to feel that the title [is] appropriate."

READ MORE:… pic.twitter.com/IxgG6QDTYx
— Empire (@empiremagazine) February 6, 2025

"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 released alongside the trailer last November.

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.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING Empire Cover And Still Sees Star Tom Cruise Put His Life On The Line

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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING Trailer And Poster Send Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt On His Last Mission

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27 Comments

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 8:23 AM

I can't really see them killing Hunt off at the end of this. I would think it would mirror the ending of Craig's tenure as Bond too much.

Just give us a final scene of Tom doing his iconic run off into the sunset, and I'll be satisfied lol.

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 8:29 AM

@RedFury - yeah , I don’t see Ethan dying because of the Bond comparison it would lead to…

However it would also feel appropriate and poetic that his luck finally runs out after years of defying the odds so we’ll see.

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 8:39 AM

@TheVisionary25 - how do you feel about those endings? I've truly never been a big fan of the whole "let's kill the main character off for emotional impact". I find a lot of writers or directors rally behind the idea because they say it adds stakes, and keeps the audience on their toes. But to me it's always seemed like a gimmick that doesn't eclipse the fact that the audience still knows it's just a movie.

It tends to work much better when it's a beloved side character, like when Rebecca Ferguson's character died in the last one. To me that's far more impactful because we tend to see the effect it has on the protagonist and how they must live with that loss. Maybe I'm just one of those happy endings, walk off into the sunset kind of dudes though.

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 8:48 AM

@RedFury - I think it depends on a case by case basis and whether it feels “earned” or not (which it may or may not for different people)

In regards to Bond , given his arc throughout Craig’s 5 films and doing something new with the character I felt the ending was appropriate.

We not only saw his whole life as an agent from him becoming a “00” to his final mission but his story always had an element of tragedy to it so I felt his death would be the only way that arc could end so it worked for me.

CaptainAwkward - 2/7/2025, 8:59 AM

@RedFury - Daniel Craig’s tenure as JB ended poignantly with the death of Bond in NTTD. For me it was the right move to make. Craig’s Bond was extremely grounded, gritty and far more serious than previous iterations but there was enough emotional depth in his character that made his death all the more satisfying and impactful. The theme of death was hinted and touched upon in Skyfall during the opening sequence, he takes a bullet and falls off a high bridge, seemingly to his death but he survives and is reborn in a way. Narratively, killing off a household character such as bond does not make any sense because he’s the one fictional character with the perfect plot armour. The decision to kill this Bond sets it apart from other versions. If you are gonna do it, at least do it with a foundation and all 4 movies are interconnected. Maintaining continuity with each film enhanced the overarching storyline making it far more cohesive and tangible. Craig is my favourite Bond and I enjoyed his films the most, I suppose it’s why I’m fully content with the fate of his Bond. As for Ethan Hunt, I think killing him off will work just fine. It will give the franchise the emotional payoff and stop Cruise from coming back to do another like Hugh Jackman returning to play wolverine after that character was killed off in Logan.
Imagine they kill him off and mission impossible 9 introduces the multiverse concept where the protagonists work with a variant of Ethan Hunt. Haha that would be ridiculous.

captainwalker - 2/7/2025, 9:02 AM

@RedFury - The last Bond movie was a woke tragedy, the worst of any Bond films.

CaptainAwkward - 2/7/2025, 9:10 AM

@captainwalker - This is a flawed argument. NTTD was the perfect ending to Craig’s tenure as Bond. I’m not gonna argue or persuade you otherwise because you are entitled your opinion that is your right. I see why others would share the same sentiment but this perspective is incredibly misguided.

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 9:39 AM

@TheVisionary25 - Great points. I would absolutely agree that Bonds end was fitting to his character and arc. He's a man who has proven he would sacrifice himself for the greater good over and over again. And outside of the reality of entertainment, the odds would be stacked against someone in his line of work to survive the job and retire anyways.

So while I may not be a big fan of characters dying, I can't deny that it does make sense to end his story that way. But as an amateur writer myself, I can't help but feel that's the easy route to take. I don't mean that in a negative, I can do better way though because it's obviously a fantastic film. There's just something in me that says "let the audience imagine how this character may live on."

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 9:44 AM

@RedFury - that’s fair , I’m sure everyone has their own take and sensibility on that.

Again I think it works on a case by case basis and how it’s executed if that makes sense.

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 10:02 AM

@CaptainAwkward - great analysis! I appreciate you writing that out, it was a good read with a lot of thought out points. I feel like you've thought about this before haha. Like I was saying to Visionary, I definitely agree that it's an ending for Craig's bond that feels proper. While I may not love main characters being killed off, I feel like the way they ended Craig's time as Bond was well deserved and felt in line with the arc they created for him. Like you said we got to see a lot of this Bonds life, so it's fitting to see it end as well. And the same would be for Ethan Hunt. He's a character that exists in a world where he may die on every mission. So for his story to end that way, it surely makes sense within the context of the tale. While I personally would attempt to write a fitting ends for these characters that is a bit more happy, I can't deny that the choice the writers made made sense and felt deserved.

Lmao - Ethan Hunt returns, and he's got some help. *Variants of Hunt all walk out of a Dr. Strange portal and commence running towards the camera*

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 10:08 AM

@TheVisionary25 - yeah absolutely. I should try and not to be too rigid; I may end up letting my personal preference diminish the plan of the writers. I appreciate your perspective dude!

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 10:10 AM

@RedFury - no problem

I get ya , it can be hard to not let personal preference or your idea of a character override what the filmmaker is going for so I try to be as objective as possible but it’s tough haha

RedFury - 2/7/2025, 10:17 AM

@TheVisionary25 - haha it certainly is tough sometimes. I try to be as objective as possible as well, even if I do have an opinion on everything. But you're often the voice of "cooler heads" on this site, so I always look forward to your thoughts. Cheers man.

CaptainAwkward - 2/7/2025, 8:24 AM

This will be what Endgame is to the MCU. The final chapter to an epic, monumental franchise that has pushed the boundaries of the cinematic experience. Love dead reckoning P1, it’s my favourite so far. Can’t wait to see this in IMAX!

ObserverIO - 2/7/2025, 8:30 AM

Only if it flops.

TheFinestSmack - 2/7/2025, 8:33 AM

This might be the film to get me back in a theater. I haven't seen anything since Dune 2.

DarthOmega - 2/7/2025, 8:35 AM

I thought they were trying to pass the torch to Jeremy Renner back in the day. They dropped that real quick.

ObserverIO - 2/7/2025, 8:36 AM

This is such an unpredictable summer.

The big hitters; MI, Superman, The Fantastic Four, Snow White, Jurassic World, etc. could go either way. I could just as easily see any of them be huge successes as I could see any of them be total flops.

Lilo & Stitch seems like a safe bet to me. I think that could be pretty big.

And Wicked/Avatar will bring in some cash towards the end of the year.

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 8:39 AM

Damn , I didn’t even recognize Simon Pegg in that picture…

I was confused as to who Cruise’s Ethan was reassuring and thought it might be someone from his past that we meet in the film but it’s just Benji lol.

If this is the end for Ethan (which I’m not sure either way) , it would be nice to get the likes of Jeremy Renner , Paula Patton ,Thandiwe Newton ,Maggie Q ,Jonathan Rhys Meyers & Laurence Fishburne back for a one scene appearance or something to tie Ethan’s life together & round it off.

I don’t think we would need Michelle Monaghan’s Julia back though since they had closure I felt at the end of Fallout.

MosquitoFarmer - 2/7/2025, 8:45 AM

No strict reason to kill him off, but it could happen. Whether it's left ambiguous or made certain either way, Cruise said this is his last go as Ethan Hunt. That's what matters. He's 62, anyhow, and has other movies he wants to make.

DarthOmega - 2/7/2025, 8:55 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - Don't kill him off. That character has been through hell. He deserves a retirement on some fancy island somewhere.

Imagine him with an umbrella drink with some Aviator shades on relaxing during the sunset...

A waiter walks by with a covered dish. Ethan opens it. It's a succulent Chinese meal. He cracks open a fortune cookie it reads "Ethan Hunt here's your mission should you choose to accept it... Blah blah blah this cookie will self destruct"

TheCoonII - 2/7/2025, 10:02 AM

@MosquitoFarmer - no he didn’t he said he’s doing these movies til hes 80

bkmeijer1 - 2/7/2025, 8:57 AM

So it's only the for now I suppose. Could see Ethan Hunt return for future movies as the new secretary/director/whoever leads the IMF though

TheVisionary25 - 2/7/2025, 9:06 AM

@bkmeijer1 - yeah

Most likely it’s the end for now and when they inevitably reboot or restart the franchise , you could have Cruise return as the boss with a new fresh lead.

NoDaysOff - 2/7/2025, 9:16 AM

It's going to be an ambiguous end i feel. Leaving the door open if the producers want more, but giving him a good 'End'.

We're not going to see him "die" onscreen, i'm 100% confident on that.

bkmeijer1 - 2/7/2025, 9:29 AM

@NoDaysOff - I doubt so as well. Someone on the mainteam is gonna die though (I doubt Elsa is really dead). There has to be a mission that really proves impossible someday right?

NoDaysOff - 2/7/2025, 10:02 AM

@bkmeijer1 - I'm still hoping for Elsa to come back, but sadly i think it will be Ving Rhames who bites it.

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Is MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING The End For Ethan Hunt? Tom Cruise, Chris McQuarrie Weigh In

With rumours swirling that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning will bring an end to Ethan Hunt's adventures, Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie have weighed in on whether this is really the end.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING Empire Cover And Still Sees Star Tom Cruise Put His Life On The Line

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING Trailer And Poster Send Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt On His Last Mission

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.