Tom Cruise introduced a new Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailer at CinemaCon

Six years have passed since Tom Cruise announced that the seventh and eighth films in the Mission: Impossible franchise would be shot back-to-back, and he has been in production on these films for a long time. We saw Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning back in 2024, and now the follow-up, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is almost ready to make its way out into the world, heading toward a May 23rd release date. This is a huge release for Paramount Pictures, so of course they focused on it in a major way during their panel at the CinemaCon event, showing attendees a new trailer.

Cruise was in attendance for the panel and got his appearance started by leading a moment of silence to honor his late Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick co-star Val Kilmer. JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray reports, “Tom Cruise showed up in person and the exhibitors went nuts. He led off by paying tribute to Val Kilmer who he called a dear friend. Said he was grateful and honored he came back for Top Gun: Maverick. Has us take a moment of silence for him. Ended it with ‘Thank you, Val. I wish you well on your next journey.‘”

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning tells the second half of the story that began in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, with Ethan Hunt out to destroy an AI system called The Entity, which is housed in a sunken Russian stealth submarine. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, and Dead Reckoning writer/director Christopher McQuarrie remains at the helm, working from a screenplay he crafted with Erik Jendresen.

Cruise is being joined in the cast by Hayley Atwell, reprising her Dead Reckoning role of thief-turned-IMF-recruit Grace; Vanessa Kirby as arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis, a.k.a. the White Widow, a character who was previously seen in both Fallout and Dead Reckoning; Ving Rhames as IMF agent Luther Stickell, who has been part of this franchise since the first Mission: Impossible movie in 1996; Simon Pegg as IMF agent Benji Dunn, who joined the party back in Mission: Impossible III; Henry Czerny as CIA director Eugene Kittridge, who was introduced in Mission: Impossible (1996) and finally made his long-awaited return in Dead Reckoning; Rolf Saxon as William Donloe, a CIA analyst who got in trouble after Ethan Hunt accessed his computer way back in the first Mission: Impossible; and more Dead Reckoning reprisals: Esai Morales as the Entity-serving terrorist Gabriel; Pom Klementieff as Gabriel’s former ally Paris; Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis as US Intelligence agents Briggs and Degas; Mariela Garriga as Marie, a mysterious woman from Ethan and Gabriel’s past; Mark Gatiss and Charles Parnell as the heads of the NSA and NRO;. There are also a handful of new additions to the franchise: Holt McCallany as Secretary of Defense Bernstein; Nick Offerman as Sydney, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Katy O’Brian, Stephen Oyoung, Tramell Tillman, Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, and Lucy Tulugarjuk in unspecified roles.

Here’s what Bumbray had to say about the presentation and the new trailer: Cruise brought in Christopher McQuarrie, who he calls McQ. In a funny bit he says people ALWAYS think McQ is the grown up Jonathan Lipnicki from Jerry Maguire. He said their partnership started with Valkyrie and on that movie he knew he was an artist he’d work with the rest of his life. Said McQ came into Mission: Impossible on Ghost Protocol, when he called him in to work on some scenes. The day he arrived was right after Cruise climbed Burji Khalifa. He came up with the line “Blue is glue, red is dead” on the spot, which blew away Brad Bird and Simon Pegg. Cruise said the script for the movie was a bit of a mess and McQ’s script really helped make the film and he was the unrecognized hero of it. He did the same on American Made and Top Gun: Maverick. While he was prepping Rogue Nation, Brad Pitt and Skydance borrowed him to completely overhaul World War Z.

Their biggest challenge on these films was the pandemic, as it hit right as they were ready to roll. The movies would have fallen apart had McQ and his family not agreed to go ahead in those uncertain days. The movie was the leader in that it showed Hollywood how you could still shoot an epic safely. It was McQuarrie who was responsible for getting both Mission: Impossible movies and Top Gun: Maverick in theaters. Cruise says he’s our modern day Irving Thalberg and presented him with the director of the year award at CinemaCon. McQuarrie says before Valkyrie he was planning to quit the movie business, saying that he wrote a screenplay (Valkyrie) no one wanted, and directed a film no one watched (Way of the Gun). Also said it’s been his pleasure putting Cruise in danger for the world’s entertainment.

The new trailer reveals that the film picks up two months after Dead Reckoning and is loaded with action. Looks like it might be one of the largest scale action movies ever made.

And, by the way, before Cruise left the stage, he said he cannot wait to see F1. He said Brad Pitt is a great driver and that they’ve raced before.

Are you looking forward to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning? What do you think of this CinemaCon report? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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