Mission: Impossible | |
---|---|
Based on | Mission: Impossible by Bruce Geller |
Produced by | Tom Cruise Paula Wagner (1–3) J. J. Abrams (4–6) Christopher McQuarrie (6–8) |
Starring | Tom Cruise Ving Rhames Simon Pegg |
Production companies | |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 1996–present |
Running time | 931 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.05 billion (7 films) |
Box office | $4.13 billion (7 films) |
Mission: Impossible is a series of American action spy films, based on the 1966 TV series created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by and stars Tom Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored by various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.
Starting in 1996, the films (taking place starting six years after the events of the previous TV sequel series) follow the missions of the IMF's main field team, under Hunt's leadership, to stop an enemy force and prevent an impending global disaster. The series focuses on Hunt's character, and like the television series' structure, is complemented by an ensemble cast, such as Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg), who have recurring roles.
The series has experienced a generally positive reception from critics. It is the 17th-highest-grossing film series of all time, earning over $4.09 billion worldwide, [1] and is often cited as one of the best action franchises to date. The sixth film, titled Fallout , was released on July 27, 2018 and is currently the series' highest-grossing entry. The seventh and eighth films are feature-length two-parters, with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning released in July 2023 and an untitled eighth film scheduled for release in May 2025. The films are co-produced and released by Paramount Pictures.
In 2024, the series received its first Academy Award nominations, with Dead Reckoning being nominated in the categories of Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the 96th ceremony. [2]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | May 22, 1996 | Brian De Palma | David Koepp & Robert Towne | David Koepp & Steven Zaillian | Tom Cruise & Paula Wagner | Released |
Mission: Impossible 2 | May 24, 2000 | John Woo | Robert Towne | Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore | ||
Mission: Impossible III | May 5, 2006 | J. J. Abrams | J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman | |||
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | December 16, 2011 | Brad Bird | André Nemec & Josh Appelbaum | Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk & J. J. Abrams | ||
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | July 31, 2015 | Christopher McQuarrie | Christopher McQuarrie | Drew Pearce & Christopher McQuarrie | Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk, Don Granger, J. J. Abrams, Dana Goldberg & David Ellison | |
Mission: Impossible – Fallout | July 27, 2018 | Christopher McQuarrie | Tom Cruise, Jake Myers, J. J. Abrams & Christopher McQuarrie | |||
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | July 12, 2023 | Erik Jendresen & Christopher McQuarrie | Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie | |||
Untitled eighth film | May 23, 2025 | Filming |
Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of his IMF team during a botched mission in Prague and accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer known only as "Max". On the run, Ethan seeks to uncover the real traitor and clear his name.
Ethan goes back in action and works with professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton). The duo go undercover to stop rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) (who is also Nyah's former lover) from stealing a deadly virus, starting a pandemic, and selling the antidote to the highest bidder.
Ethan is engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), who is unaware of his true job. He assembles a team to face the elusive arms and information broker Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who intends to sell a mysterious dangerous object known as "The Rabbit's Foot".
Ethan and the entire IMF are framed for the bombing of the Kremlin while investigating an individual known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist). Ethan and three other agents are left to stop Cobalt from starting a global nuclear war.
Ethan Hunt comes under threat from the Syndicate. Faced with the IMF's disbandment, Hunt assembles his team for their mission to prove the Syndicate's existence and bring the organization down by any means necessary.
When an IMF mission to recover plutonium goes wrong, the world is faced with the threat of the Apostles, a terrorist group formed by former members of the Syndicate. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill the original mission, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives.
An AI known as "the Entity" is responsible for the sinking of the next-generation Russian submarine Sevastopol. The Entity has since gone rogue and entrenched itself into cyberspace; the secret to stopping or controlling it lies with the key, which Ethan Hunt and the IMF must track down, as various world powers and nefarious forces race to obtain the key in order to use the Entity for their own purpose.
In January 2019, an eighth Mission: Impossible film was announced to be in development, written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie and filmed back-to-back with the seventh film. [3] [4] It was scheduled to be released on August 5, 2022, but was delayed to November 4, 2022, then to July 7, 2023, then to June 28, 2024, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [5] [6] It was later delayed to May 23, 2025 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Hayley Atwell joined the cast in September 2019, [7] followed by Pom Klementieff and Shea Whigham. [8] [9] In January 2020, Nicholas Hoult and Simon Pegg were announced to be appearing in the film, [10] [11] but Hoult was later replaced by Esai Morales in both films due to scheduling conflicts. [12]
In February 2020, it was announced that Henry Czerny and Vanessa Kirby would return as Eugene Kittridge and Alanna Mitsopolis, respectively. [13] [14] In February 2021, Deadline Hollywood reported that Part Two would no longer be filmed back-to-back with Part One. [15] Filming of Part Two began shortly after production wrapped on Part One. [16] It was initially billed that both films would be a send-off for Ethan Hunt. [17] The subtitle, Dead Reckoning Part Two, was removed from the film in October 2023. [18]
In June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie stated that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Part Two would not end the series, as there are developments for future installments. [19] In July 2023, during promotion for Part One, Cruise expressed interest in continuing to make further films in the series as Ethan Hunt, despite both films having previously been billed as a send-off to the character. [20] Inspired by Harrison Ford's continued success in the Indiana Jones films, Cruise stated that he would like to keep making Mission: Impossible films until he is likewise in his eighties. [21]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the Mission Impossible film series.
Character | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | M:I 2 | M:I III | Ghost Protocol | Rogue Nation | Fallout | Dead Reckoning | Eighth film | ||
Ethan Hunt | Tom Cruise | ||||||||
Luther Stickell | Ving Rhames | Ving Rhames C | Ving Rhames | ||||||
Eugene Kittridge | Henry Czerny | Henry Czerny | |||||||
William Donloe | Rolf Saxon | Rolf Saxon | |||||||
The Contact | Andreas Wisniewski | Andreas Wisniewski C | |||||||
Benji Dunn | Simon Pegg | ||||||||
Julia Meade | Michelle Monaghan | Michelle Monaghan C | Michelle Monaghan | ||||||
William Brandt | Jeremy Renner | ||||||||
Jane Carter | Paula Patton | ||||||||
Ilsa Faust | Rebecca Ferguson | ||||||||
Solomon Lane | Sean Harris | ||||||||
Alan Hunley | Alec Baldwin | ||||||||
August Walker | Henry Cavill | ||||||||
Alanna Mitsopolis The White Widow | Vanessa Kirby | ||||||||
Zola Mitsopolis | Frederick Schmidt | ||||||||
Erika Sloane | Angela Bassett | Angela Bassett P | Angela Bassett | ||||||
Grace | Hayley Atwell | ||||||||
Jasper Briggs | Shea Whigham | ||||||||
Degas | Greg Tarzan Davis | ||||||||
Gabriel | Esai Morales | ||||||||
Paris | Pom Klementieff | ||||||||
Head of the NSA | Mark Gatiss | ||||||||
Head of the NRO | Charles Parnell |
Film | U.S. release date | Budget | Box Office Gross | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Domestic | International | Worldwide | |||
Mission: Impossible [22] | May 22, 1996 | $80 million | $180,981,856 | $276,714,535 | $457,696,391 |
Mission: Impossible 2 [23] | May 24, 2000 | $125 million | $215,409,889 | $330,978,219 | $546,388,108 |
Mission: Impossible III [24] | May 5, 2006 | $150 million | $134,029,801 | $264,449,696 | $398,479,497 |
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol [25] | December 16, 2011 | $145 million | $209,397,903 | $485,315,477 | $694,713,380 |
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation [26] | July 31, 2015 | $150 million | $195,042,377 | $487,674,259 | $682,716,636 |
Mission: Impossible – Fallout [27] | July 27, 2018 | $178 million | $220,159,104 | $571,498,294 | $791,657,398 |
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning [28] | July 12, 2023 | $219 million (net) | $172,135,383 | $395,400,000 | $567,535,383 |
Total [29] | $1.047 billion | $1,327,156,313 | $2,812,030,480 | $4,139,186,793 |
The Mission: Impossible film series has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with the latter four attracting significant praise directed towards their direction, cinematography, stunts, action sequences, performances, and musical scores.
Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore [30] |
---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | 66% (65 reviews) [31] | 59 (29 reviews) [32] | B+ |
Mission: Impossible 2 | 56% (155 reviews) [33] | 59 (40 reviews) [34] | B |
Mission: Impossible III | 71% (224 reviews) [35] | 66 (42 reviews) [36] | A− |
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | 93% (253 reviews) [37] | 73 (47 reviews) [38] | A− |
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | 94% (328 reviews) [39] | 75 (46 reviews) [40] | A− |
Mission: Impossible – Fallout | 97% (442 reviews) [41] | 87 (60 reviews) [42] | A |
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning | 96% (427 reviews) [43] | 81 (66 reviews) [44] | A |
The television version is in a rarely used 5
4 time (an unusual time signature with five crotchets to a bar) and is difficult to dance to, [45] as was proven by a memorable segment of American Bandstand in which teenage dancers were caught off-guard by Dick Clark's playing of the Lalo Schifrin single release.
The opening theme music for the first seven films are stylized renditions of Schifrin's original iconic theme, preserving the 5
4 rhythm, by Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Joe Kraemer and Lorne Balfe, respectively.[ citation needed ]
For Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr.'s version featured on the first film's motion picture soundtrack, the time signature was changed to standard pop 4
4 time to make it more dance-friendly, although the intro is still in 5
4 time. [45] The Limp Bizkit song "Take a Look Around" from the soundtrack to the second film was set to a similar 4
4 modification of the theme, with an interlude in 5
4.[ citation needed ]
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV is an American actor and producer. Regarded as a Hollywood icon, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for four Academy Awards. His films have grossed over $4 billion in North America and over $11.5 billion worldwide, making him one of the highest-grossing box-office stars of all time. He is consistently one of the world's highest-paid actors.
Christopher McQuarrie is an American filmmaker. He received the BAFTA Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the neo-noir mystery film The Usual Suspects (1995).
Mission: Impossible 2 is a 2000 action spy film directed by John Woo and produced by and starring Tom Cruise. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible (1996) and the second installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film also stars Dougray Scott, Thandiwe Newton, Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Šerbedžija and Ving Rhames. In the film, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) teams with professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Newton) to secure a genetically modified disease held by rogue Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent Sean Ambrose (Scott), who is Nordoff-Hall's former lover.
Mission: Impossible is a 1996 American action spy film directed by Brian De Palma and produced by and starring Tom Cruise from a screenplay by David Koepp and Robert Towne and story by Koepp and Steven Zaillian. A continuation of the 1966 television series of the same name and its 1988 sequel series, it is the first installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It also stars Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vanessa Redgrave. In the film, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) seeks to uncover who framed him for the murders of most of his Impossible Missions Force (IMF) team.
Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 American action spy film directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by and starring Tom Cruise, from a screenplay by Abrams and the writing team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible (1996) and Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) and the third installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Billy Crudup, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q and Laurence Fishburne. In Mission: Impossible III, retired Impossible Mission Force (IMF) agent and trainer Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is forced to return to active duty to capture elusive arms dealer Owen Davian (Hoffman).
Nicholas Caradoc Hoult is an English actor. His filmography includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in American and British films. He has received several accolades, including nominations for a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2012.
Ethan Matthew Hunt is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Mission: Impossible film series. He is portrayed by Tom Cruise. The character of Ethan Hunt is a highly skilled field agent and operative for the Impossible Mission Force (IMF), a secret government agency that handles dangerous and high-stakes missions.
Tom Cruise is an American actor and producer who made his film debut with a minor role in the 1981 romantic drama Endless Love. Two years later he made his breakthrough by starring in the romantic comedy Risky Business (1983), which garnered his first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 1986, Cruise played a naval aviator in the Tony Scott-directed action drama Top Gun which was the highest-grossing film of the year, and also appeared with Paul Newman in the Martin Scorsese-directed drama The Color of Money. Two years later, he starred with Dustin Hoffman in the Academy Award for Best Picture-winning drama Rain Man (1988), and also appeared in the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture-winning romantic drama Cocktail (1988). In doing so Cruise became the first and only person to star in a Best Picture Oscar winner and a Worst Picture Razzie winner in the same year. His next role was as anti-war activist Ron Kovic in the film adaptation of Kovic's memoir of the same name, Born on the Fourth of July (1989), for which he received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama.
Luther Stickell is a fictional character in the Mission: Impossible film series who first appeared in the 1996 film Mission: Impossible and is the only character besides Ethan Hunt to appear in every film to date.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is a 2011 American action spy film directed by Brad Bird from a screenplay by the writing team of Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, who also serve as co-producers. Produced by Tom Cruise, J. J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk, it is the sequel to Mission: Impossible III (2006) and is the fourth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The film stars Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Paula Patton, with Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, and Léa Seydoux in supporting roles. In the film, the Impossible Missions Force (IMF) is shut down after being publicly implicated in a bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team to go without resources or backup in a life-threatening effort to clear their names.
Rebecca Louisa Ferguson Sundström is a Swedish actress. She began her acting career with the Swedish soap opera Nya tider (1999–2000) and went on to star in the slasher film Drowning Ghost (2004). She came to international prominence with her portrayal of Elizabeth Woodville in the British drama The White Queen (2013), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is a 2015 American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a story by McQuarrie and Drew Pearce. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It stars Tom Cruise in the main role, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin. It follows Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team, who, subsequent to their disbandment and Hunt's pursuit by the Central Intelligence Agency, must surreptitiously fight The Syndicate, an international black ops terrorist group of rogue government agents from around the world.
Point Grey (PGP) is an American film and television production company, founded in 2011 by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. The name of the company comes from Vancouver's Point Grey Secondary School, where Rogen and Goldberg met.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a 2018 American action spy film written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie. The sequel to Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015), it is the sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. The ensemble cast comprises Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, and Alec Baldwin. Set two years after the events of Rogue Nation, Fallout follows Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team in their efforts to prevent a nuclear attack by terrorist Solomon Lane and the mysterious extremist John Lark.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a 2023 American spy action film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. It is the sequel to Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) and the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. It stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, alongside an ensemble cast including Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, and Henry Czerny. In the film, Hunt and his IMF team face off against "the Entity", a powerful rogue AI.
The untitled eighth Mission: Impossible film is an upcoming American spy action film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. It is the direct sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) and the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible film series. Tom Cruise returns in his eighth appearance as the series' lead character, Ethan Hunt, whom he will have portrayed over a period of 29 years at the time of the film's release. Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff all reprise their roles from previous films in the series.