After almost 30 years, three on-screen deaths, and at the very least a dozen wild stunts, Ethan Hunt and Mission: Not possible have approached some sort of finish with The Final Reckoning. The query now could be “what’s subsequent?,” which has hovered over this franchise for years, and in a number of alternative ways.
Tom Cruise is the collection, and all through the years, he’s reaffirmed his commitment to those films till his coronary heart stops beating. Longtime followers know a few of this served as a direct assertion to Paramount: after Jeremy Renner was solid as William Brandt for Ghost Protocol, rumors started to swirl he’d take over because the collection’ lead if (or, if the studio had its method, when) Cruise opted to retire from the franchise. That by no means materialized, however from Ghost and onward, Cruise has had one other star readily available as a co-lead, together with Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust (launched in Rogue Nation), Hayley Atwell’s Grace (Useless Reckoning), and Henry Cavill’s August Walker (Fallout).
All 4 actors—even Cavill, at the very least till Walker’s villain reveal—have felt like Mission: Not possible taking some sort of stab at getting audiences on board with attainable candidates to step in for an growing older Cruise. Every have been launched as a foil or mirror to Ethan and get at the very least one stunt or motion scene to make a case for themselves as a possible new lead. Whether or not that’s been the writers’ direct intent or not, the probabilities of a brand new protagonist coming in really feel seemingly, even when it means some splitting the distinction, like having them deal with shootouts and fist fights whereas Ethan continues to tug off death-defying stunts, one thing Ultimate Reckoning already does.
After Ethan brings his newest crew collectively, he splits off from them to principally carry out the much-advertised deep sea stunt to analyze a shipwrecked submarine whereas his associates go to St. Matthew’s Island and combat in opposition to Russian particular forces. This can be a collection of films that frequently builds upon its predecessors, so it stands to purpose this might be the best way ahead if Cruise is adamant about main these movies till his personal physique dictates he can’t.
Alternatively, Cruise now has a deal to develop and produce movies for Warner Bros., together with a movie with Alejandro González Iñàrritu and doubtlessly an Edge of Tomorrow sequel. If he allowed it, Paramount might doubtlessly hold Mission: Not possible going with out him for a film or two so audiences have time to overlook Ethan whereas getting invested in a brand new or returning set of characters. Then, it may be a correct occasion when Ethan returns, giving Cruise and the studio a legacy sequel doubtlessly as momentous as Prime Gun: Maverick was just some years in the past.
Failing that, we could get a brand new crop of motion spy films over the subsequent few years, much like the woman-fronted ones that attempted to fill the empty house left by a nonexistent Black Widow film till 2021. Mission is among the many final of the style’s massive franchises—the others being Jason Bourne and James Bond, each of which probably have new movies within the works, however nothing concrete as of but. (Quick & Livid orbits the identical space, however not fairly the identical method, and that subsequent film is presently TBD.) With such a vacuum, any actor or director might arguably come and make a reputation for themselves.
Already, a number of actors appear to have been bitten by the motion bug currently: following his directorial debut with final 12 months’s Monkey Man, Dev Patel’s subsequent mission is the medieval action-thriller The Peasant. Simu Liu has his eyes on a Sleeping Dogs movie that’ll put his Shang-Chi coaching to good use, and in probably the most attention-grabbing of developments, Florence Pugh satisfied Disney to let her jump off a skyscraper for a stunt in Marvel’s present hit Thunderbolts.
That movie’s give attention to sensible work, and Pugh’s dedication to do it, speaks to a starvation among the many present crop of stars to actually get their arms soiled and do precise bodily work. Cruise has advocated for youthful actors to make themselves viable for such work and study old movies, even going as far as to create separate boot camps for his respective Final Reckoning and Top Gun: Maverick costars. A give attention to sensible work has been one in all Mission’s best strengths, and quite a lot of actors, like Pom Klementieff, appear to be taking Cruise’s concepts and insights to coronary heart. Audiences additionally appear to be greater than prepared to take a look at a film in theaters if it appears worthwhile and actual, which motion films are inclined to excel at. Whether or not studios will let that occur, and provides actors and creatives the alternatives to offer these tactile, very actual thrills, is one other matter completely.
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