The following article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.ending of The Final Reckoning may not have been what most audiences were expecting, but it effectively pulls Ethan Hunt’s (Tom Cruise) story to a meaningful conclusion while keeping the door open for some new ideas in the future. While not everybody makes it through the movie, enough heroes are standing at the end to imagine what the future of the IMF will look like.
Despite Luther’s death in The Final Reckoning, the majority of Hunt’s original IMF crew are still alive at the end of the movie. With Ethan effectively on the run from his own government thanks to his ownership of the Entity, and most of his friends under scrutiny as his accomplices, this neatly ties a bow on the Mission: Impossible franchise and proves to audiences that he can’t easily return. Given how successful these movies have been, a definite conclusion like this was necessary to avoid endless rumors of Cruise’s return, and this is the safest way of ensuring that without killing Ethan
Which Of The IMF Survive Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
Most Of Ethan's Friends Make It Through The Final Movie
Thankfully, Luther is the only central member of the IMF who dies throughout The Final Reckoning. Ethan, Grace (Haley Atwell), and Benji all survive the events of the film, helping Ethan trap the entity within Luther’s prism and letting him look after the deadly AI in secret. Although they’re still alive, the United States government won’t forgive their actions too quickly; it’s no secret that they assisted Hunt on his mission, and President Sloane (Angela Bassett) may try using them to get to Hunt in the future.
There were even some characters missing from The Final Reckoning who are still technically alive, such as Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt.
This seems like the most likely way for Mission: Impossible to return in the future (if that even happens at all), with the remaining IMF agents trying to prove their innocence and avoiding the punishment for assisting Hunt. Thankfully, The Final Reckoning introduced several new characters who also survived the events of the movie and could reappear in any potential sequels or spinoffs. The most obvious of these is William Donloe, the CIA agent whose career Ethan derailed by stealing the NOC list back in 1996.
9 Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Easter Eggs, Franchise References, & Callbacks Explained
The Final Reckoning is a real celebration of the Mission: Impossible franchise as a whole, and the last movie has plenty of callbacks.
There were even some characters missing from The Final Reckoning who are still technically alive, such as Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt. This means that Mission: Impossible still has a future after all, despite everything that Cruise and McQuarrie have assured about The Final Reckoning being Ethan’s last adventure. There were several scenes where other key figures could have died (such as Benji in those thrilling final moments), but they didn’t, ensuring the door was open for their return.
Who Is The Leader Of The IMF Team After The Final Reckoning?
Benji Finally Accepted His Inevitable Responsibility
Throughout the Mission: Impossible franchise, Ethan Hunt has always been the unspoken leader of his particular IMF team. However, with the protagonist now in hiding and looking after the dangerous entity, it’s not safe for him to lead the field agents into the future. Instead, this responsibility must be ed onto another — most likely, Benji. Not only has Simon Pegg’s character been around the longest (now that Luther is dead), but The Final Reckoning also makes a big deal about referring to Benji as the new leader.
When they travel to the arctic research station in search of the coordinates, Hunt puts Benji in charge of the mission - and he succeeds.
Though he’s initially hesitant to lead the team, Benji’s journey in The Final Reckoning sees him grow more confident with leadership in Hunt’s absence. When they travel to the Arctic research station in search of the coordinates, Hunt puts Benji in charge of the mission, and he succeeds. This should hopefully have given him enough confidence to step into Ethan’s shoes now he’s retired from action. But even if that’s not the case, he’s still got agents like Grace and Degas to split the responsibility with.
Where Does The IMF Go From Here?
The Remaining IMF Agents Still Have Plenty Of Responsibilities
Although the sequel does a good job of bringing Ethan’s story to a close, there’s still a future for Mission: Impossible’s existing IMF team. It will be difficult for Benji, Grace, and Degas to overcome their reputation as rogue agents following the events of The Final Reckoning, but the fact still remains that they saved the world from complete destruction. This seems like something the IMF should take into consideration when bringing them back on board.
Every Tom Cruise Movie In Development After Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
While Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning may be the end of an era for him, Tom Cruise thankfully has many movies in development.
Thankfully, there will never be a shortage of stories for Mission: Impossible to explore. Each previous sequel has focused on a completely different threat to global security, and there are still plenty of fun concepts that could be explored. Whether that’s even more nuclear threats and underground terrorist groups or something unique like artificial intelligence gone rogue, there’s no doubt that Benji, Grace, and Degas will find themselves in world-threatening danger again in the future.
Could The IMF Carry A Mission: Impossible Movie Without Ethan Hunt?
Tom Cruise Has Been The Star Of This Franchise For So Long
Ultimately, the biggest obstacle that a potential Mission: Impossible spinoff would need to overcome is the absence of Cruise’s protagonist, who has always been the beating heart of this franchise. Since Brian de Palma’s original 1996 movie, the series has consistently leaned on Cruise’s natural charisma and willingness to put himself in increasingly dangerous situations for the sake of audience entertainment. Cruise’s Mission: Impossible stunts have become a major selling point of the series, and it’s hard to imagine any future projects doing quite as well without this huge draw. But that doesn’t mean the franchise is doomed.
The most recent sequels have done a really great job of bringing the ing cast into the spotlight, with characters like Benji and Grace receiving ample opportunity to lead their own major set pieces. This was evident from the grand finale of The Final Reckoning, as Hunt was totally absent from one of the movie’s most intense sequences — the containment of the Entity in the bunker. This should serve as evidence enough that Mission: Impossible is more than just Cruise, but any spinoffs will face a huge amount of pressure to get audiences to overlook his absence.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning
- Release Date
- May 17, 2025
- Runtime
- 170 minutes
- Director
- Christopher McQuarrie
Cast
Ethan Hunt
Grace
WHERE TO WATCH
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning follows Ethan Hunt and his team as they pursue a formidable AI called the Entity that has compromised global intelligence networks. With new allies and a haunting figure from Hunt's past in pursuit, they must act quickly to avert a global catastrophe.
- Writers
- Erik Jendresen, Christopher McQuarrie
- Prequel(s)
- Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
- Franchise(s)
- Mission: Impossible
- Main Genre
- Action
Your comment has not been saved