"Our lives are the sum of our choices." The gangs back to wrap up a mission in MI: Final Reckoning trailer "If we want to bring the world back from the brink, we have to deal with him." Jennifer Ouellette Apr 7, 2025 2:28 pm | 0 Credit: Paramount Pictures Credit: Paramount Pictures Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn more Tom Cruise is back for what may (or may not) be his final turn as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible: Final Reckoning. After giving CinemaCon attendees a sneak peek last week, Paramount Pictures has publicly released the trailer for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, the eighth installment of the blockbuster spy franchise starring Tom Cruise as IMF agent Ethan Hunt, and a sequel to the events that played out in 2023's Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning.This may, or may not, end up being Cruise's last film in the franchise; everyone's being pretty cagey about that question. But the trailer certainly gives us everything we've come to expect from the Mission Impossible films: high stakes, global political intrigue, and of course, lots and lots of spectacular stunt work, including Cruise hanging precariously mid-air from a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane.(Spoilers for Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning below.)For those whose memory of Dead Reckoning's plot is dim, Hunt and his team became embroiled in a global chase to find the two keys capable of controlling a rogue sentient AI dubbed The Entity. Both were needed to unlock a chamber aboard a Russian stealth submarine that contained The Entity's source code, so the possessor of those keys would be able to control or (preferably) destroy the AI. Hunt managed to acquire the two keys and fled by paraglider, reuniting with his BFF and fellow field agent Benji (Simon Pegg), intending to complete the mission and shut down The Entity.Given that Final Reckoning is a continuation of that film, naturally Cruise and Pegg aren't the only returning cast members. Also reprising their roles are Ving Rhames as IMF computer technician Luther Stickell; Hayley Atwell as thief-turned-IMF agent Grace; Vanessa Kirby as black market arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis (aka the White Widow); Esai Morales as Gabriel, an assassin who serves as The Entity's liaison; Pom Klementieff as Gabriel's fellow assassin who joined forces with Hunt after Gabriel betrayed her; Angela Bassett as former CIA director and now US President Erika Sloane; Henry Czerny as former IMF director Eugene Kittridge, who now heads the CIA; and Rolf Saxon as CIA analyst William Donloe.Mark Gatiss and Indira Varma also return as the heads of the NSA and DIA, respectively. Additions to the cast include Mariela Garriga as a woman from Ethan's past; Nick Offerman as the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis as US intelligence agents Jasper Briggs and Degas, respectively; Frederick Schmidt as Alanna's brother Zola; and Holt McCallany as the secretary of Defense. Janet McTeer and Hannah Waddingham will also appear in as-yet-undisclosed roles.Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning hits theaters on May 23, 2025. It's one of the most expensive films ever made, with an estimated budget of about $400 million, so Paramount needs a big box office take to turn a profit. Dead Reckoning, despite critical raves and a global box office of $571 million, was deemed a disappointment, so that gives you an idea of just how high the bar to profitability could be. Then again, Final Reckoning won't be going up against the "Barbenheimer" juggernaut that dominated the industry in the summer of 2023. Here's hoping Hunt and his IMF team are up to the task. Credit: Paramount Pictures Jennifer OuelletteSenior WriterJennifer OuelletteSenior Writer Jennifer is a senior writer at Ars Technica with a particular focus on where science meets culture, covering everything from physics and related interdisciplinary topics to her favorite films and TV series. Jennifer lives in Baltimore with her spouse, physicist Sean M. Carroll, and their two cats, Ariel and Caliban. 0 Comments