Mission: Impossible 8 might be the last game in the series.
In 1996, the popular movie series that starred Tom Cruise as the superspy Ethan Hunt began.
Cruise has utilized the franchise as a launching pad for progressively more daring real-life feats, such as scaling the Burj Khalifa and clinging to the side of a jet plane, since the fourth chapter, 2011’s Ghost Protocol.
The films have made over $4 billion, in part thanks to these infamous stunts.
With the upcoming Mission: Impossible 8, directed by returning director Christopher McQuarrie, the franchise is already scheduled to continue in 2025.
According to a recent THR article,
Paramount is considering designating the upcoming Mission:
Impossible 8 as the “final” entry in the film series.
They also note that Cruise is hesitant to retire the Ethan Hunt character,
having previously stated that he would like to continue playing the lead in Mission:
Impossible films for at least another 20 years.
In the end, it is unclear if they will stick with this choice because the film has not yet been given an official title or trailer, much less a more thorough promotional campaign.
The box office performance of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One may be the reason Paramount is contemplating this line of action.
The franchise’s seventh and most recent film, which debuted in 2023, had the lowest box office receipts since 2006 and had sharply declining returns.
Despite receiving positive reviews from critics and viewers, it may have hardly turned a profit because of its enormous budget of over $200 million, which probably indicated that its break-even point was $550 million or more.
The finances of the Mission: Impossible films could potentially destroy the franchise, even though Tom Cruise is the driving force behind many of his projects, such as his efforts to postpone the release of the popular film Top Gun: Maverick so that it can have a theatrical release instead of a pandemic-era streaming debut. Although referring to the future film as the last installment would seem to be a gimmick to increase audience interest, the franchise may still reach its inevitable finish if it doesn’t result in a significant spike in ticket sales.
