With each “Mission: Impossible” movie, Tom Cruise keeps finding novel ways to almost die on screen.
As Ethan Hunt, he’s clung from trains, planes and the side of the Burj Khalifa, while engaging in one “can you top this” stunt after another. So it’s no surprise that “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” finds Cruise risking it all once again. This time he’s hanging on for dear life from the wing of a airborne biplane as it flies upside down in new footage that Paramount Pictures debuted at CinemaCon on Thursday.
And he’s convinced the U.S. navy to go the distance as he races to save the world. “You gave him an aircraft carrier?” one shadowy official asks in disbelief, at one point in the new trailer. Cruise is later seen vaulting from the ship’s deck into the ocean.
But this is what Hunt was born to do. Ving Rhames, playing computer hacker and Ethan’s BFF, Luther Stickell, puts it bluntly as the IMF agent suits up one last time: “Our lives are the sum of our choices. This is your calling. Your destiny.”
As its title suggests, “The Final Reckoning” is rumored to serve as the 62-year-old Cruise’s sendoff to the espionage series. It is a direct followup to 2023’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” which earned more than $570 million globally, but was a box office disappointment because costs ballooned to nearly $300 million due to COVID shutdowns and the expense of resuming shooting during the pandemic.
Before sharing the new footage, Cruise took the stage to honor his frequent collaborator Christopher McQuarrie as CinemaCon’s “Director of the Year.” He praised the director for his help on projects like “Top Gun: Maverick,” as well as his contributions to non-Cruise films such as “World War Z” with Brad Pitt. And he added that “Dead Reckoning,” which they made together, was a milestone for moviemakers, because it helped establish safety protocols that got the industry back to work during the pandemic.
“He didn’t do it for personal glory, but in recognition of the responsibility we had for others,” Cruise said. “We were able to keep people working safely throughout that time period.”
“The Final Reckoning” brings back franchise stalwarts like Simon Pegg, as well as Esai Morales, who served as the primary human antagonist in the previous film (the other big baddie was AI). The cast also includes Hayley Atwell, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and Rolf Saxon, all of whom appeared in previous installments. Newcomers to the series include Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, and Nick Offerman. McQuarrie, who has directed three previous “Mission: Impossible” movies, returns behind-the-camera. He wrote the script with Erik Jendresen.
Paramount will release “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” in theaters on May 23, 2025.
Oh and there’s one summer movie that Cruise is definitely excited to see in theaters. That would be “F1,” the Formula One drama starring Pitt that was directed by Joseph Kosinski, Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” director.
“[Brad’s] a very good driver,” Cruise said. “I’ve raced against him…we’d literally finish [shooting ‘Interview with the Vampire’] and go race go-carts.”
That’s high praise from the star of “Days of Thunder.”
