WhileTom Cruisemay not be going to space in the upcomingMission: Impossiblesequels, writer/directorChristopher McQuarriehas still found a trio of “obscene” stunts for the actor to perform. Cruise has been upping the ante with each successiveMission: Impossiblefilm, as the best franchise currently running is also the gold standard when it comes to practical effects. ForGhost Protocol, Cruise hung off the tallest building in the world. InRogue Nation, he hung onto the side of an airplane while it took off into the sky. And in 2018’s action masterpieceMission: Impossible – Fallout, he performed a HALO jumpandpiloted a helicopter in the same movie.
So what’s next? McQuarrie agreed to return to write and directMission: Impossible 7andMission: Impossible 8back-to-back, and with filming due to begin this year, he appeared on theEmpire podcastto offer a minor tease of what fans can expect. He reiterated that Ethan Hunt willnotbe going to space, but assured us he’s found plenty of death-defying things for Tom Cruise to do on this planet:
“We’ve figured out three obscene things that he’s doing that I’m terrified of, that make the helicopter chase look like tinker toys."
McQuarrie didn’t specify if those three things will all happen inMission 7or if they’re spaced out between7and8, largely because he admits they don’t even really know how the two movies connect yet. If you’ve read or heard any interview with McQuarrie about his process, you know that bothRogue NationandFalloutwere malleable productions, during which the story and characters changed drastically throughout filming. The same was true ofGhost Protocol, for which McQuarrie came in during the middle of production and helped rework the story.
And it’s turned out great every single time, so who’s to argue with the process? ForMission 7and8, McQuarrie and Cruise both went in embracing this abnormal approach, and chose locations and set pieces before trying to nail down the story. McQuarrie said on the podcast that he just figured out the story forMission 7a month ago:
“Over the course of many movies that Tom and I have done together, our process has evolved and we’ve learned to trust the process. Not attempt to control the process… This was the first time where we really have the comfort and the support—and probably the exhaustion because we were still working onTop Gun: Maverick—to just not worry so much about where it was going and just go where it wanted to go. I figured out the story about four weeks ago… About a month ago I moved one essential piece of the puzzle… and suddenly I was able to outline the entire movie in eight minutes.”
McQuarrie says he’s been focused on mapping out the emotional arcs of the characters, includingHenry Czerny’s Kittridge from the firstMission: Impossible. McQuarrie talked about why he brought the character back:
“Early in this process I had an inkling that there could be a place for Kittridge – the tone of the movie, the shape of the movie lent itself to that. I realized, ‘Kittridge has got to be in this scene.’ I had written it not knowing who was in it, and then suddenly Kittridge came into it and the scene was transformed, it was really fun. I got to call Henry Czerny and say, ‘You’re in! Will you be in it?’ He was great about it.”
McQuarrie wouldn’t specify exactly when filming begins or where it will be taking place, but again given the quality of the rest of the films—especially the ones McQuarrie had a hand in making—there’s no reason to believe he and Cruise are going to drop the ball now.
Mission: Impossible 7and8will also starHayley Atwell,Pom Klementieff,Nicholas Hoult,Shea Wigham,Simon Pegg, andVanessa Kirby.Mission: Impossible 7hits theaters August 08, 2025.
