Is “Mission: Impossible The Final Reckoning” the End of the Franchise? Here's What the Cast Says (Exclusive)
"With Mr. Cruise, you can never count him down or out," Angela Bassett tells PEOPLE of costar Tom Cruise
"With Mr. Cruise, you can never count him down or out," Angela Bassett tells PEOPLE of costar Tom Cruise NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The cast of 'Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning' on May 15.:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Global-premiere-of-Mission-Impossible-The-Final-Reckoning-London-052225-tout-ba7f4c67b9e343af8b40d7943c39428a.jpg "The cast of 'Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning' on May 15.")
- Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is in theaters now
- The eighth film in the Tom Cruise action franchise, which kicked off in 1996, is rumored to be the last
- Cast members including Angela Bassett and Simon Pegg tell PEOPLE whether it's truly the conclusion
Nearly three decades have passed since Tom Cruise debuted as Ethan Hunt, a field agent for the Impossible Mission Force, in the 1996 movie Mission: Impossible.
Since then, he has reprised the world-saving character seven more times — while donning disguises and doing his own stunts too — including in the most recent installment, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.
Could this really be the last film in the long-running franchise (based on the 1966-73 CBS series)? The cast isn’t so sure, even though the word “final” is in the title.
“With Mr. Cruise, you can never count him down or out. He's always up for an amazing adventure and to give the audience exactly what they're craving,” Angela Bassett, who plays Erika Sloane, the CIA director turned POTUS, tells PEOPLE. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.'
“I would never assume,” she adds.
Simon Pegg, who plays IMF tech turned field agent Benji Dunn, feels the same. “Never say never, do you know what I mean? That’s a rule I tend to live by.”
“The last two together took five years to make,” he continues, referencing The Final Reckoning and its 2023 predecessor, Dead Reckoning.
“So it depends entirely on a lot of things. I don't think Tom likes the idea of finality. I think even if there isn't anything that comes after this, you leave the theater feeling like, ‘Oh, maybe there's more.' And I think that's the golden thing, to leave the audience feeling hope rather than despair,” continues the actor, who has appeared in every movie since the third. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Nick Offerman, Charles Parnell, Angela Bassett, Mark Gatiss and Janet McTeer in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.'
Hayley Atwell notes that there’s a “satisfying closure” that comes with The Final Reckoning. “There is that sense of the emotional end of something that feels like a very emotional closure. And yet, Tom Cruise is never going to slow down. He won't ever stop. This is who he is,” says the actress, who plays pickpocket Grace.
Cruise himself avoided answering a question about the future of the franchise during an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on May 14 ahead of the film’s premiere.
"Just let us show the movie tonight. This is like 30 years culmination of this and I think that this is — I'd rather just people see it and enjoy," Cruise said when asked whether the franchise has a future. Paramount Pictures and Skydance Tom Cruise, Simon Pegg, and Hayley Atwell in 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.'
“We've had an amazing time doing it and it's been a lot of fun and just want you all to enjoy it, enjoy this and know everything — the culmination has come to this moment right now and it's been a lot of fun."
As for director Christopher McQuarrie, who has directed the four most recent Mission: Impossible films? Asked if he sees more Mission: Impossible movies in his future, he tells PEOPLE, “You'd have to ask me after a very long vacation.”
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is in theaters now.
