Tom Cruise's MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE series has been running strong since the '90s, powered lately by Cruise's partnership with director Christopher McQuarrie. The two have made three MISSION movies together, or four if you count the franchise's fourth episode, which McQuarrie rewrote and restructured late in the game.
In 2023, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART ONE pitted Ethan Hunt and his crew against a potentially world-dominating artificial intelligence, called simply The Entity. The final showdown between the Impossible Mission Force and that AI adversary is yet to come, in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8, coming in 2025. Here's everything we know about the next MISSION.
What's the Mission: Impossible 8 Release Date?
Paramount Pictures will release MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 in movie theaters on May 23, 2025.
Is There a Mission: Impossible 8 Trailer?
There is no trailer for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 yet! You can see a lot of fan-made concept trailers online, but none feature official footage.
Will Mission: Impossible Be the Final Title?
Probably not! There hasn't been a numbered entry in the series since MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III. This movie was originally set to be called MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - DEAD RECKONING PART 2, but expect a different subtitle when the first images and trailer are revealed.
What Is Mission: Impossible 8 About?
Everything we know at this point about the plot of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 is drawn from the previous movies. But there's a lot to go on!
At the end of DEAD RECKONING, Ethan Hunt was set to go in search of a downed sub called the Sevastopol, in which the source code of The Entity is contained. But that's not an easy task. He's got to find it, for one. And he has to deal with Gabriel, an adversary from Hunt's past who has allied with The Entity.
But Ethan Hunt has some strong allies. There are his most familiar compatriots, Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn. Partway through the last movie, Luther went off on his own to work on researching a way to destroy The Entity. And there's Grace, the thief who ended up working with Hunt and, at the end of DEAD RECKONING, petitioned to become an IMF agent. Finally, there's Paris, Gabriel's former enforcer, who, after being spared by Hunt and left for dead by Gabriel, seems poised to become at least an IMF ally.
All of which is more story setup than story, but it does create a framework from which we can build some expectations about the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 plot. Ethan Hunt has to deal with his past, and find and destroy The Entity. How will all that happen? That… we don't know.
What Will the Big Stunt Sequences Be in Mission: Impossible 8?
We don't know yet, but can make one big guess. The sub Sevastopol is at the bottom of the ocean, and Ethan Hunt will have to reach it, and explore the wreck to recover the source code for The Entity. That's a setup for an underwater sequence which, given Cruise's determination to perform some stunts himself, could top anything done in the series so far.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 is also filming in the UK, Malta, South Africa, and Norway, any of which could play home to other impressive stunts. Filming has also taken place on the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush, which will likely play into scenes leading to a dive to the Sevastopol.
The fact that no spy pictures have been captured or "leaked" showing off any stunt work suggests that those sequences are being filmed somewhere remote enough to avoid paparazzi cameras and casual photographers.
Is [Redacted] Really Dead?
Skip this part if you haven't seen DEAD RECKONING and don't want to be spoiled on the most significant detail.
But, yes, the character Ilsa Faust, played by Rebecca Ferguson, is likely dead. She is seemingly killed by Gabriel during a duel in Venice, Italy. While it's reasonable to expect that such a twist could be a fake out, given the nature of this series, comments from Ferguson suggest that she is ready to move on from the very demanding process of making MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movies.
Who's in the Mission: Impossible 8 Cast?
Many actors return from previous movies in the series. Tom Cruise plays IMF agent Ethan Hunt; Ving Rhames returns as Luther Stickell; Simon Pegg is back as Benji Dunn, and Henry Czerny returns as Eugene Kittridge, who is now the director of the CIA.
Hayley Atwell reprises the role of Grace, a thief turned IMF agent. Vanessa Kirby returns as weapons dealer and sometime ally Alanna Mitsopolis, aka the White Widow, and Frederick Schmidt returns as Alanna's brother Zola Mitsopolis. Esai Morales is back as the villain Gabriel, Pom Klementieff once again plays Paris, Gabriel's former enforcer and assassin, who is now likely working with Ethan Hunt, and Mariela Garriga is back as Marie, the woman from the past whose life bound Ethan and Gabriel together.
Then there are Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs and Greg Tarzan Davis as Briggs's partner Degas, and Rolf Saxon as William Donloe, the CIA analyst who was last seen way back in the original MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie.
There are some new faces, too. Holt McCallany appears as Secretary of Defense Bernstein, and Nick Offerman plays the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, Lucy Tulugarjuk, Katy O'Brian, and Tramell Tillman all have roles, too, but details have not been released about who they play. Expect to learn of many other new additions in the weeks to come.
Who Are the Mission: Impossible 8 Filmmakers?
Much of the behind-the-scenes team returns from the last MISSION movie. Christopher McQuarrie once again directs and co-writes, with Erik Jendresen co-writing the script. Lorne Balfe returns as composer, Eddie Hamilton returns as editor — he has edited all the MISSION movies directed by McQuarrie — and Fraser Taggart once again serves as cinematographer.
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 8 opens on May 23, 2025.
All images courtesy of Paramount Pictures.