In what has been teased as the final film or films for Tom Cruise’s character of Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning is set to be released in two parts; Part One will premiere on July 14, 2023 while Part Two will release in June 2024 and the first trailer was released to begin the next year of anticipation.
The Cast
The principal cast from Fallout has returned with Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames and Vanessa Kirby are all reprising their respective roles. Also returning is actor Henry Czerny as Kittridge who has been absent from the franchise since his appearance in the original Mission: Impossible film in 1996. Kittridge is the only character who has any dialogue which is directed at Hunt who warns him that his days of fighting are over and heavily implies that he is out for world domination as he seeks to redefine right and wrong and warns Hunt to pick a side. Since there is only one side for Ethan Hunt, this conversation does not end well. In addition to the returning cast is new members such as Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss and Charles Parnell. Atwell is given the most screen time of these newcomers and her character of Grace seems to play a major factor in these upcoming films. Klementieff also figures prominently as an assassin type character and receives several action sequences. The majority of the character names are unknown as of now and the plot details are being kept under wraps for the time being.
The Action
Like all of the previous Mission: Impossible films, Dead Reckoning is not light on the action. There are multiple sequences of car chases one of which involves Cruise and Atwell being handcuffed together and forced to ride close to one another. This scene in particular also features them having to drive in a old Volkswagen against newer model vehicles. There are several hand-to-hand fights and even a sequence that features Rebecca Ferguson unsheathing a katana against Esai Morales who pulls out a knife. There also seems to be an extensive sequence on a train that is reminiscent of the first film and features close combat as well as Cruise and Morales fighting on the top of this moving train. The trailer also features a rather spectacular train crash that was much publicized during the film’s production. There are also many scenes in a desert location as there are soldiers on horseback executing some covert operation as well as Ferguson’s character who has somehow lost an eye during the events of the film. Since this is a Mission: Impossible film, it must feature a death-defying stunt from Tom Cruise who has become something of a punching bag after infamously breaking his ankle during the production of Fallout. Cruise likes to take big risks onscreen and Dead Reckoning will be no exception as he is shown jumping a motorcycle over a cliff while wearing a parachute. Regardless of what happens during the film, Dead Reckoning is poised to send the franchise off on a high note.
