Look, no one is saying outright that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be the last installment in the beloved franchise. But let’s be honest—you don’t choose that title and conclude your trailer with Tom Cruise saying, “I need you to trust me one last time,” if you’re not thinking about the end. With the last film, Dead Reckoning (originally attached with “Part 1” at the end of its title), leaving unsolved business in Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) chase to stop the growth of The Entity, audiences can hardly hold their excitement to watch how this saga concludes. Still, Mission: Impossible fans know how this needs to end. More than death-defying stunts and thrilling chase and combat sequences, The Final Reckoning indicates that our bold and fearless IMF super-spy will meet his heroic demise in his fight to protect humanity. As morbid as it sounds, any other outcome would feel cheapened.
Tom Cruise is Ready to Move on From Mission: Impossible
Beyond the textual arc of the Mission: Impossible series, Tom Cruise’s recent career developments, including signing a deal with Warner Bros. and his return to auteur-driven fare with Alejandro G. Iñárritu, suggest that he’s ready to leave behind the franchise he transformed from a television series to a cinematic phenomenon. Cruise, often heard staunchly advocating for the cinematic experience and supporting other big-ticket movies like Sinners, has become an ambassador for film as a cultural touchstone in America, and his role as the face of movies has outgrown the capabilities of M:I. The exciting possibilities for Cruise heading into his mid-60s are endless. Maybe he’ll return to Oscar-worthy dramas like Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia that challenge his stardom, or perhaps he’ll unite with the other champion of cinema, Christopher Nolan, to create the grandest movie of our lifetime.
In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t be so callous to wish for Ethan Hunt to die in The Final Reckoning, considering how miraculous it is that Cruise has made it through seven movies without suffering from a fatal stunt gone wrong. People have often glibly remarked that the series could only reasonably end if Cruise died doing what he loved best: performing a jaw-dropping, reckless stunt for our amusement on the screen. Of course, we all hope for the best for Cruise’s safety, but the swan song to the Mission: Impossible franchise practically calls for Ethan Hunt’s fatal blow. In Fallout and Dead Reckoning, the last two entries, Ethan has pushed himself to the absolute limit, flying helicopters, preventing the detonation of a bomb on a mountain peak, riding a motorcycle off a mountain ledge, and hanging off a locomotive. At some point, Ethan will have to show that he is just a human and not Superman.
‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Needs a Tragic But Epic Conclusion to Ethan Hunt’s Story
Under the direction of franchise staple Christopher McQuarrie, the M:I movies have felt epic, not just in the scope of their action, but in their mythological treatment of their protagonist, best exemplified by Alan Hunley’s (Alec Baldwin) speech in Rogue Nation, where he referred to Ethan as the “living manifestation of destiny.” His friends and colleagues, Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), talk about him with the reverence of a God, one who is borderline insane, due to his impulsive decision to partake in the most death-defying tasks, but carries the spirit of Earth’s watchful guardian. With Dead Reckoning‘s MacGuffin, the key to The Entity, being shaped like a cross, the series has fully leaned into the allusions to Christ. Perhaps Ethan is the modern-day messiah after all, and the only way this arc would be complete is if he sacrificed himself for the betterment of the world and humanity.
Killing off major characters is often a lazy device to raise the stakes and intensity of a story, but Ethan Hunt’s hypothetical death would be wholly justified. As a Christ-like super-spy, Ethan won’t die for our sins, but rather, to protect his friends. Although the Fast and the Furious series gets credit for being about “family,” solidarity with loved ones is the core behind M:I. Ever since his crew was betrayed in the original 1996 film, Ethan swore off ever losing anyone he knew ever again. He can’t fathom witnessing one of his friends perish, even if it means compromising a mission. To best humanize the mythical Ethan and identify the heart of his character dynamic, dying to save his friends would make him feel complete. Due to the high-octane spectacle of the franchise, Ethan is now renowned for being a deeply complex and rich character, but he could demonstrate his tragic but epic fate through his actions.
It just has to happen, right? Although Mission: Impossible III tried to sell us on a domesticated Ethan Hunt, his destiny is to die on the job.
Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning comes to theaters on May 23.
