Is Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning The Last One In The Tom Cruise Franchise?

Leading up to the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, there has been a lot of speculation that it will be the final entry in the long-running spy franchise. The Final Reckoning will be the eighth Mission: Impossible movie and will pick up after Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’s cliffhanger ending. The story of the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will follow Ethan Hunt and his team as they continue to fight against villains like Gabriel and the artificial intelligence program known as The Entity.

The cast of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning includes Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames. The upcoming Mission: Impossible movie was shot back-to-back with Dead Reckoning, so director Christopher McQuarrie will also be helming The Final Reckoning. It has long been suggested that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be the last movie in the series, but neither Cruise nor McQuarrie have confirmed this. Therefore, it’s possible that more Mission: Impossible movies will be made after The Final Reckoning.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Is Not Confirmed To Be The End Of The Franchise

The Future Of The Mission: Impossible Franchise Is Unknown

When it was announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible movies were going to be filmed back-to-back, it was widely believed that they were going to serve as a massive two-part finale for the series. However, it has not been officially announced that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the last movie in the franchise. Although, the teaser for The Final Reckoning makes it seem like it could potentially be the last entry in the series.

In the teaser, Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, who has been the franchise lead since the first film was released in 1996, asks his team to trust him “one last time.” This line heavily implies that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will be the last movie in the franchise. However, Cruise has heavily suggested that he wants to continue making Mission: Impossible movies. There has not been a clear answer as to what the future of the Mission: Impossible franchise looks like, so fans will likely continue to be confused as the release of The Final Reckoning nears.

Paramount Reportedly Wanted To Market Mission Impossible 8 As The Last One (But Tom Cruise Didn’t)

Paramount And Tom Cruise Have Reportedly Been Clashing

It seems like Cruise and Mission: Impossible distributor Paramount also disagree about what the future of the franchise looks like. A recent report from The Hollywood Reporter indicated that Paramount wanted to market The Final Reckoning as the last Mission: Impossible movie. However, Cruise reportedly disagreed with their proposed strategy. Despite its desired marketing strategy for The Final Reckoning, it is unclear if Paramount actually wants the Mission: Impossible franchise to end, as it is also possible that they just want to advertise it as the last movie to drive more ticket sales.

If a Mission: Impossible movie is released after The Final Reckoning, advertising that film as Cruise’s return to the franchise would also be a smart marketing strategy.

Marketing The Final Reckoning as the last Mission: Impossible movie will surely convince more people to go to the theaters to watch the film. Furthermore, if a Mission: Impossible movie is released after The Final Reckoning, advertising that film as Cruise’s return to the franchise would also be a smart marketing strategy. Therefore, it is understandable why Paramount would want to market The Final Reckoning as the last Mission: Impossible movie, even if it isn’t.

What Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie Have Said About Mission: Impossible’s Future

Cruise And McQuarrie Have Suggested The Mission: Impossible Series Will Continue

Tom Cruise has been the face of the franchise since the very beginning and has produced every single Mission: Impossible movie. Therefore, his thoughts on the future of the franchise are very important to consider. Ahead of the release of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Cruise cited Indiana Jones star Harrison Ford as a legend who is still making movies. Therefore, Cruise expressed his desire to still be making Mission: Impossible movies when he’s in his 80s. He said:

“Harrison Ford is a legend; I hope to be still going; I’ve got 20 years to catch up with him. I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age.”

In addition to Cruise, director Christopher McQuarrie has also suggested that The Final Reckoning will not be the last Mission: Impossible movie. McQuarrie is a close collaborator with Cruise, who joined the franchise with 2015’s Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Before the release of Dead Reckoning, McQuarrie also claimed that there could be more Mission: Impossible movies after The Final Reckoning, and noted that “the plan always changes.“

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Title Works Even If Is Not The Final Movie

Mission: Impossible 8’s Title Was Changed From Dead Reckoning Part Two

Based on Cruise and McQuarrie’s comments, it seems like there will likely be a ninth Mission: Impossible movie. However, the title and teaser for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning suggest that it will be the last entry in the series. Including the word “final” in the title obviously leads people to believe it will be the last movie, but the word “reckoning” also suggests that Ethan’s past will come back to haunt him in the next Mission: Impossible installment.

However, The Final Reckoning still works as a title even if it is technically not the last Mission: Impossible movie. Firstly, Mission: Impossible 8’s new title connects to the previous entry in the franchise, Dead Reckoning. This is good, as The Final Reckoning’s story will continue from where Dead Reckoning left off. Furthermore, The Final Reckoning is undoubtedly an intriguing subtitle for a movie, so no one would bat an eye if it’s not the last movie in the franchise.

Mission: Impossible 8’s Box Office Might Define Whether There Will Be More Movies

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Underperformed At The Box Office

Even though it seems like Cruise and McQuarrie want to continue the Mission: Impossible franchise, it’s possible that Paramount wants to market The Final Reckoning as the last film just in case it doesn’t perform well at the box office. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning surprisingly made only $570,619,838 at the worldwide box office on a budget of almost $300 million (via Box Office Mojo). In comparison, Fallout and Rogue Nation made $791,658,205 and $682,716,636, respectively.

Therefore, it’s possible that Paramount is worried The Final Reckoning will underperform at the box office. The Mission: Impossible movies are very expensive to make, so they need to be box office hits. Therefore, despite the wishes of Cruise, McQuarrie, and Paramount, it’s highly likely that the reception and box office performance of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning will determine whether it is the last movie in the series.

Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Box Office Mojo