Untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film

Untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film
The untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film is an upcoming American spy action film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. It is the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. Tom Cruise returns in his eighth appearance as the series' lead character, Ethan Hunt, whom he will have portrayed over a period of 29 years at the time of the film's release. Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff all reprise their roles from previous films in the series.
In January 2019, Cruise announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back with McQuarrie writing and directing both films. Plans for the film later changed in February 2021. Returning and new cast members were announced soon after, and Lorne Balfe, who composed the score for two films, returned to score the film. Filming began in March 2022 in the United Kingdom with other filming locations, including Malta, South Africa and Norway. It was halted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 23, 2025, by Paramount Pictures.
Cast
Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt: An IMF agent and leader of a team of operatives.
Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell: An IMF computer technician, Ethan's best friend and a member of his team.
Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge: The former director of IMF who became the director of the CIA in Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn: An IMF technical field agent and a member of Ethan's team and close friend.
Hayley Atwell as Grace: A thief turned IMF agent and Ethan's ally. Atwell returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis: A black market arms dealer also known as the White Widow and daughter of Max, a deceased former arms dealer from Mission: Impossible.
Esai Morales as Gabriel: A powerful terrorist with ties to Ethan’s past before the IMF, and acts as the Entity's liaison. Morales returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Pom Klementieff as Paris: A French assassin who was betrayed by Gabriel and became an IMF agent after being spared by Ethan. Klementieff returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs: A US Intelligence agent assigned to track down Ethan and his team. Whigham returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Greg Tarzan Davis as Degas: A US Intelligence agent and Briggs' partner assigned to track down Ethan and his team. Davis returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Mariela Garriga as Marie: A woman from Ethan and Gabriel's past. Garriga returns from Dead Reckoning Part One.
Rolf Saxon as William Donloe: A CIA analyst who was last seen being transferred to Alaska in Mission: Impossible.
Holt McCallany as Bernstein: The Secretary of Defense.
Nick Offerman as Sydney: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Additionally, Mark Gatiss and Charles Parnell return as the heads of the NSA and NRO from Dead Reckoning Part One, respectively, while Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham and Lucy Tulugarjuk have been cast in undisclosed roles.
Production
Development
On January 14, 2019, Cruise initially announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back with McQuarrie writing and directing both films for July 23, 2021, and August 5, 2022, releases. However, in February 2021, Deadline Hollywood revealed that Paramount had decided to no longer move forward with that plan. It was reported that both films would be a "send-off" to the Ethan Hunt character.
Casting
In September 2019, Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff joined the cast of the eighth installment. In December, Simon Pegg confirmed his return for the film, while Shea Whigham was also cast. Nicholas Hoult joined the cast by January 2020, along with Henry Czerny, who will reprise his role as Eugene Kittridge for the first time since the 1996 film. Vanessa Kirby also announced she was returning for both films. However, due to scheduling conflicts, Hoult was replaced by Esai Morales for both films. In July 2022, it was reported that Holt McCallany had joined the cast. In August, it was revealed Nick Offerman and Janet McTeer were also added to the cast. In March 2023, McQuarrie announced Hannah Waddingham, Lucy Tulugarjuk and Rolf Saxon's addition to the cast, the latter of whom reprises his role from the first film.
Filming
In February 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that the film would no longer be filmed back-to-back with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. By November, McQuarrie was in the process of rewriting the film. On March 24, 2022, Collider reported the beginning of principal photography of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. Filming took place in the UK at Longcross Studios and the Lake District. Other locations included Malta, South Africa and Norway. In December 2022, it was reported filming was finished in the UK. The crew then moved to Puglia to continue filming aboard the USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier. During the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike, production was thought to have been put on hold according to an interview with McQuarrie in the June 2023 issue of the Empire magazine. However, this was later revealed to have been a misinterpretation of McQuarrie's statement, and continued production was only waiting for the promotion of Part One to complete. Filming was suspended in July due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Post-production
Industrial Light & Magic returns from the seventh film to produce the visual effects, along with Clear Angle Studios and Halon Entertainment as the additional vendors for lidar, cyber scanning and previsualization. In October 2023, Dead Reckoning Part Two was removed as the film's subtitle.
Release
The film is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2025. It was previously set for release on August 5, 2022, but was delayed to November 4, 2022, July 7, 2023, June 28, 2024, and then to the current date due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Future
In June 2023, McQuarrie told Fandango that Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two would not necessarily end the series, and they were developing ideas for future installments. In July 2023, during promotion for Part One, Cruise expressed interest in continuing to make further films in the series as Ethan Hunt, despite both films having initially been billed as a send-off to the character.
See also
List of Mission: Impossible filming locations
References
External links
2020s American films
2020s English-language films
2020s spy films
2025 action thriller films
American action thriller films
American sequel films
American spy action films
Upcoming IMAX films
Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Films based on television series
Films directed by Christopher McQuarrie
Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films produced by Tom Cruise
Films scored by Lorne Balfe
Films shot at Longcross Studios
Films shot in Cumbria
Films shot in Malta
Films shot in Norway
Films shot in South Africa
Films with screenplays by Christopher McQuarrie
Mission: Impossible (film series)
Paramount Pictures films
Skydance Media films
Upcoming English-language films
Upcoming sequel films