Mission: Impossible has a new title, new release date, and new, crazy stunts

How is it possible that the stakes can keep getting higher for the Impossible Missions Force? Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) has barely known a moment of peace in his life over the past 30 years, and now he’s once again being sent on his most impossible mission yet. The Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning teaser promises to bring the heat (among other drastic elements) when the film hits theaters on May 23, 2025. “For every life you’ve tried to save, you’ve gambled millions more,” Ethan is warned in the clip. “And now the fate of every living soul on earth is your responsibility.”

The good folks at Paramount Pictures and Skydance Media (soon to be one in the same company) would like to point out that Cruise’s wardrobe in the teaser is the same that he wore for his Paris 2024 Olympic Games Closing Ceremony stunt. As you might expect, the Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning teaser is mostly stunts: Cruise hanging from planes, Cruise deep-sea diving, Cruise being chased by trucks. Some of the stunts are old ones (the iconic image of Cruise in spy gear dropping on a line from the ceiling) as the trailer emphasizes Ethan’s history—”Every choice has led to this,” as the tagline goes. In keeping with this theme, you may spot some familiar faces, like Angela Bassett as CIA Director Erika Sloane (from Mission: Impossible—Fallout) or the ghostly visage of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) as she gives Ethan an underwater kiss. 

The eighth installment in the long-running action franchise was originally billed as a more direct sequel to M:I7, titled Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part Two. The new movie will still follow the events of Dead Reckoning and its evil AI plot, but given that film’s floundering at the box office, the studio obviously wanted to make this one a little more distinct. Christopher McQuarrie and co. also apparently want us to believe this could be Ethan’s “final” rodeo, though Cruise has previously said he’d like to continue going on impossible missions until he’s 80 years old. 

In addition to Cruise and Bassett (and Ferguson, in at least a cameo appearance), The Final Reckoning also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Frederick Schmidt.