In January 2019, Cruise announced the next twoMission: Impossible films would be shotback-to-back, with McQuarrie writing and directing both. Returning and new cast members were announced soon after, andLorne Balfe, who composed the score forFallout, returned to score. Filming began in Italy in February 2020 but was halted by theCOVID-19 pandemic. It resumed later that year and wrapped in September 2021, with other filming locations including Norway, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. With an estimated gross budget of $291 million, including a net $220 million budget, it isone of the most expensive films ever made.
TheSevastopol, a next-generation Russian stealth submarine named in honour ofthe Ukrainian city of same name on its inaugural mission, 74 days after traveling 25,000 nautical miles, passing through all the navies of the world without being detected, activates an advancedactive learning defense system using a two-piececruciform key. The AI, designated "the Entity", becomessentient and goes rogue after deceiving the submarine crew into thinking an enemy submarine was nearby and attacking themselves with a torpedo, killing all aboard and sinking theSevastopol in theBering Sea.
World powers compete to obtain the cruciform key in hopes of controlling the Entity.IMF agentEthan Hunt travels to theEmpty Quarter of theArabian Desert and retrieves one piece of the key from disavowedMI6 agent Ilsa Faust, faking her death to shield her from a bounty. In Washington, D.C., Ethan infiltrates aU.S. Intelligence Community briefing forDirector of National Intelligence Denlinger, whereCIA Director Eugene Kittridge explains that the Entity can manipulatecyberspace to control global defense intelligence and financial networks. Ethan reveals himself and forces him to admit to placing the bounty on Ilsa, then escapes, determined to destroy the Entity.
Ethan and his IMF teammates Benji Dunn andLuther Stickell travel toAbu Dhabi International Airport to intercept the second piece of the key. It is revealed to be a fake, although Ethan encounters Grace, a thief who steals the first piece of the key from him, while Luther and Benji disarm a hoax nuclear device. Ethan is pursued by US agents but recognizes Gabriel, his opponent who is aliaison from the Entity with ties to his pre-IMF past, and aborts the mission, scattering the team. Grace escapes toRome and is apprehended, but Ethan rescues her from local authorities, the US agents, and an Entity operative named Paris. Grace escapes again, while Ethan rejoins Luther, Benji, and Ilsa.
Ethan and Ilsa follow Grace toVenice and infiltrate a party held byarms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis[c] at theDoge's Palace. In possession of the second piece of the key, Alanna hired Grace to steal the first, and will sell the completed key to her buyer the next day on theOrient Express. Gabriel proclaims that he will possess the completed key the next day if either Ilsa or Grace dies. Ethan attempts to dissuade Alanna from the sale, allowing Gabriel and Grace to escape. He pursues Grace, but the Entity hacks into their communications and impersonates Benji, leading Ethan into a fight with Paris, whom he defeats but spares. Gabriel incapacitates Grace and kills Ilsa, devastating Ethan.
While preparing for the sale, Luther leaves for an off-grid location to prevent interference from the Entity, advising Ethan to spare Gabriel for questioning about the Entity. On the train with Paris, Gabriel kills the engine crew and destroys the throttle and brake. He meets with Denlinger, who attempts to form an alliance with the Entity, which he reveals was originally an advancedcyber weapon developed by the United States, and transferred onto theSevastopol to sabotage the sub's stealth system. The completed key unlocks a chamber inside theSevastopol containing the Entity'ssource code, allowing it to be destroyed or controlled. As this secret is known only to Denlinger, Gabriel kills him, and tries to kill Paris as the Entity has predicted she will betray them after Ethan spared her life.
Disguised as Alanna, Grace brings the key to Kittridge, revealed to be the buyer, and negotiates a $100 million sale alongside protection for herself, but pickpockets the key from Kittridge after cancelling the transfer. Ethan parachutes into the train to save Grace, but Gabriel acquires the key. Fighting Ethan atop the train, Gabriel escapes and detonates a bridge ahead. Detaching the runaway locomotive and saving the passengers, Grace and Ethan climb through the falling train cars until they are rescued by Paris, who tells Ethan about the key's connection to theSevastopol before collapsing. Grace informs Kittridge of her desire to join the IMF. Ethan flees the wreckage byspeed wing with the completed key, which he pickpocketed from Gabriel during the fight, and rendezvous with Benji to continue the mission to find theSevastopol and destroy the Entity.
Hayley Atwell as Grace, a thief and Ethan's new ally. Christopher McQuarrie described Atwell's character as a "destructive force of nature", while Atwell explained that her character's loyalties are "somewhat ambiguous".[9][10]
Ving Rhames asLuther Stickell, an IMF computer technician, Ethan's best friend, and a member of his team.
Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, an IMF technical field agent, Ethan's friend and a member of his team.
Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, ablack-market arms dealer and broker who goes by the alias "White Widow". Alanna is the daughter of Max, a deceased arms dealer originally portrayed byVanessa Redgrave from the first film.
Esai Morales as Gabriel Martinelli, aliaison assassin and Ethan's adversary who appears to be working with the Entity, an all-powerful AI system, to rule the world. He and Ethan had a fateful encounter with each other prior to Ethan's becoming an IMF agent.[11]
In February 2019,Rebecca Ferguson confirmed her return for the seventh installment.[22][23] In September, McQuarrie announced thatHayley Atwell had joined the cast.[24] In November 2019,Pom Klementieff joined the cast of both the seventh and eighth films.[12] In December 2019,Simon Pegg confirmed his return for the film, withShea Whigham cast in both films.[25][26]Nicholas Hoult was cast in a role in January 2020, along with the addition ofHenry Czerny, reprising his role as Eugene Kittridge for the first time since the1996 film.[27][28] Hoult was cast because Cruise liked his audition forTop Gun: Maverick (2022) to play Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, recognizing him as a supremely talented actor who just wasn't suited to play that role for that movie even though there wasn't a concrete story set for the seventhMission: Impossible film.[29]
Vanessa Kirby also announced she was returning for both films.[30] In May 2020, it was reported thatEsai Morales would replace Hoult as the villain in both films because of scheduling conflicts.[31] Morales was cast as Gabriel because of McQuarrie seeing his role of Camino Del Rio onOzark; Hoult's recasting thanks to theCOVID-19 pandemic with Morales led to drastic story changes since it was after Morales was cast that McQuarrie realized that Cruise and Morales being about the same age opened several story possibilities to tie in their characters toEthan Hunt's backstory. Similarly, it was after Hoult's departure that the filmmakers came up with the concept of "The Entity".[29]
Angela Bassett announced she would return as Erika Sloane in December 2020, but she was later removed because of COVID-19 travel restrictions.[32][33] Sloane appears in the film in a photo on the wall of DNI Denlinger's office during an intelligence briefing. In March 2021, McQuarrie revealed thatRob Delaney,Charles Parnell,Indira Varma,Mark Gatiss andCary Elwes had joined the cast.[17] That same day,Greg Tarzan Davis was also confirmed to have joined the cast.[15]
McQuarrie revealed that for the flashback segments, he considered making them reflective of the 1989 setting akin to how aTony Scott directedMission: Impossible might have looked, down tode-aging all the actors and featuringJulia Roberts as the girlfriend murdered by Gabriel. However, he stepped back once discovering how pricey the effects would become, while also feeling a younger Cruise would be distracting to audiences.[34] McQuarrie had also chosen to have Ilsa Faust die in the film while working onMaverick with Cruise, which he had co-written. He felt the decision would show the "stakes have to be real" and described Ilsa and Ethan's relationship as being "doomed to be together and yet doomed never to be together".[35]
Under the working titleLibra,[36] filming was scheduled to begin on February 20, 2020, inVenice, set up to last for three weeks before moving toRome in mid-March for 40 days,[37][38] but theCOVID-19 pandemic in Italy halted production in the country.[39] Three weeks later, stunt rehearsals began inSurrey, England, just before a hiatus.[40] On July 6, 2020, after another hiatus, crew arriving in the UK were permitted to begin filming without going through the mandatory 14-day quarantine. The set was located atWarner Bros Studios, Leavesden in Hertfordshire.[41]
The following month, permission was granted for filming inMøre og Romsdal, Norway.[42] That same month, a large fire broke out on a motorcycle stunt rig in Oxfordshire. The scene had taken six weeks to prepare and was "among one of the most expensive ever filmed in the U.K." No one was hurt in the incident.[43]
Filming began on September 6, 2020,[44] when McQuarrie started to publish pictures from the sets on Instagram.[45] The film was shot with Sony CineAlta Venice cameras, making it the first film in theMission: Impossible franchise to be shot digitally. In September 2020, filming took place in Norway, including inStranda Municipality andRauma Municipality, with Cruise seen filming an action scene with Esai Morales atop a train.[46] On October 26, 2020, production was suspended in Italy after 12 people tested positive forCOVID-19 on set. Filming resumed a week later.
In December 2020, during filming in London, an audio recording of Cruise shouting at two crew members for not following COVID-19 protocols on set was released online.[47] Cruise was likened to his character Les Grossman fromTropic Thunder (2008) as a result.[48][49] The response from the general public and that of many celebrities was supportive, suggesting that his tone and seriousness were warranted given the extreme circumstances and burden of ensuring production not be halted again.[50][51] On December 28, 2020,Variety reported that the film would concludeprincipal photography atLongcross Film Studios in the United Kingdom, with production shifting fromWarner Bros. Studios, Leavesden. In Longcross, which is in Surrey in southeast England, production was allowed to continue under strict COVID-19 protocols.[52] In February 2021, filming concluded in the Middle East and the crew returned to London for "finishing touches".
On April 20, 2021, filming commenced in the small village ofLevisham, North Yorkshire, atNorth Yorkshire Moors Railway,[53] for asequence set in theAlps in Austria with a train going 60 miles (97 km) an hour toward a bridge being blown up,[54][55] as a reference to the climactictrain wreck scene in the silent filmThe General (1926).[56] In August 2021, filming commenced inBirmingham at the city'sGrand Central shopping centre, with Cruise and Atwell spotted by onlookers.[57] In September 2021, the film's gaffer Martin Smith confirmed on Instagram that principal photography had officially wrapped.[58]
Other locations for the movie included a terminal still under construction at theAbu Dhabi airport[59] and various sites in the Italian cities of Rome (including the 20-minute-long car chase)[60] and Venice.[61]
Filming for the parachute andspeed flying sequence took place in theLake District over theButtermere Valley in the summer of 2021 and 2022. The fells ofHigh Crag andRobinson were used as launching points for shooting the speed flying scene, with landings taking place near the shore of the nearby lake.[62] The train scene with the motorcycle jump was shot in Norway, with the fight scenes agreed on with the Norwegian government.[63]
The 1908 railway bridge over Lake Pilchowickie in southern Poland, a would-be filming location forMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One that was in the international spotlight throughout 2020.
During thepre-production in late 2019, the Swiss government refused to authorize anyexplosions for the train sequence in the Alps;[64] as a result, the production team embarked onlocation scoutings in different countries to find an unwanted railway bridge.[55][56] Among those asked to help with staging a "full-scale train crash" was Polish-American film producer Andrew Eksner.[56] In November 2019, thePolish State Railways proposed Eksner use a 151-meter-long (495 ft), 1908German-erarivetedtruss bridge on Lake Pilchowickie, in theJelenia Góra Valley, inLower Silesia.[65][66] In December 2019, Paramount Pictures producers including McQuarrie landed in southern Poland,[67] accompanied in deep secrecy by officers of thePolishengineering troops.[54] McQuarrie documented the visit onInstagram.[68]
Officially opened in 1912 byWilhelm II, the proposed bridge survivedWorld War II mostly intact,[69] and was used by trains until 2016.[70] Despite publicly praising the bridge as "extremely valuable,"[71] an expertmisrepresented conclusions of a commissioned report,[72] that instead of renovating, it would be best to demolish the bridge and build a new one.[73][74] In March 2020, after the rejected Eksner spread the information,[56] local authorities and museum officials were appalled by the producers' intention to physically destroy the bridge, instead of usingCGI effects.[65][75] The filmmakers and government officials said the bridge was intended for demolition.[70]
In August 2020, as the story turned international,[83][84] McQuarrie said there was never a plan to blow up the bridge, and that only unsafe and partially damaged portions could have been destroyed, which allegedly needed to be rebuilt, concluding: "To open up the area to tourism, the bridge needed to go."[85] He later added that "there was no disrespect intended".[86] The production company did not pledge to cover construction costs of a potential new bridge, nor the renovation of the historic one.[70] Eventually,cultural property registration procedures for the Lake Pilchowickie bridge were finalized, effectively preventing it from any damage.[87] In May 2021, Eksner sued the Paramount production crew including McQuarrie and Cruise for breach of contract.[88]
Filming of the train wreck scene was expected to take place between April and June 2021 on a constructed set in a disusedquarry in thePeak District National Park inStoney Middleton, with a railway line and part of a bridge over the cliff edge.[89] After two weeks of suspended filming,[90] the scene was filmed on August 20, when a mockupBritannia Class locomotive was propelled off the cliff into the quarry.[91][92]
Industrial Light & Magic returned to provide the visual effects for the film, having done so for the firstMission: Impossible film (1996),Mission: Impossible III (2006) andGhost Protocol (2011), with BeloFX, Blind LTD, Clear Angle Studios and Halon Entertainment being the additional vendors for the film.[93][94][95] In one of the later test screenings for the film held by McQuarrie,Edgar Wright asked him about a specific audio cue, designed to indicate the audience when "The Entity" was present, was missing from the film, which led McQuarrie and Cruise to create a sound element for it.[96]
In early May 2020,Lorne Balfe was confirmed to be returning to compose the score for the seventh and eighthMission: Impossible films, after previously doing so forMission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), but was replaced for the eighth film by Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey after the former provided music for the seventh film.[97][98] Balfe's music from the teaser trailer was digitally released as asingle on June 23, 2022, throughParamount Music.[99]
A trailer for the film debuted exclusively atCinemaCon on April 28, 2022, including an introduction by Cruise filmed while he was flying in a biplane.[100] The trailer was leaked to social media on May 21, 2022,[101] and was officially released online on May 23, 2022.[102] The CinemaCon introduction was released officially on September 8, 2022.[103] Sam Barsanti ofThe A.V. Club gave the trailer a positive review and highlighted the many action scenes in it.[104]JoBlo.com also gave the trailer a positive review, saying that the "action on display is truly amazing" and praising Cruise's dedication to entertaining.[105] A behind-the-scenes look at the film debuted ahead of IMAX screenings ofAvatar: The Way of Water (2022).[106][107] The full preview was released online four days later, on December 19, 2022.[108] In Japan, the movie collaborated with the anime and manga seriesSpy × Family via theSpy x Family anime filmCode: White. The projects revealed a parody poster, in which the main characters from the anime series replace the movie cast, and also released a "collab highlights video", narrated by the voice actors of the titular Forger family.[109][110][111]
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One had its world premiere at theAuditorium Conciliazione in Rome on June 19, 2023,[112] and was theatrically released byParamount Pictures in the United States on July 12,[113] with special "Early Access Fan Event" screenings held on July 10.[114] It was released inIMAX,Dolby Cinema,4DX,ScreenX, RPX and other premium formats.[115] It was previously set to be released on July 23, 2021,[116] November 19, 2021,[117] May 27, 2022,[118] and September 30, 2022,[119] before being delayed to July 14 by theCOVID-19 pandemic and production shutdowns.[120][121] In April 2023, Paramount announced atCinemaCon that the film would be released two days earlier, on July 12.[113] The November 2021 and May 2022 release dates were given toTop Gun: Maverick (2022), another film starring Cruise that was also delayed by the pandemic.[117][118] It premiered in Sydney on July 3, 2023, and released in Australia five days later.[122]
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One was released for digital download on October 10, 2023, whileUltra HD Blu-ray,Blu-ray andDVD versions were released on October 31, 2023.[123] The Ultra HD Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes and editingfeaturettes, a deleted scenes montage and an audio commentary.[123] It began streaming onParamount+ from January 25, 2024, withPart One removed from the title after the sequel abandoned its original title.[7]
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One grossed $172.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $398.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $571.1 million.[6][1]Variety reported that given the film's massive budget, it would "likely not turn a profit" in its theatrical run,[124] later estimating that it would lose the studio around $100 million if it did not cross $600 million worldwide.[125] The film was described as abox-office disappointment.[124][126][127] Paramount received a total of £57 million ($71 million) in COVID-19 insurance payouts related to the film from Swiss insurerChubb.[4][5]
In the United States and Canada,Dead Reckoning Part One was initially projected to gross around $90 million from 4,327 theaters over its first five days, as well as another $160 million from 70 international territories, for a five-day worldwide debut of around $250 million.[3] The film made $15.5 million on its first day (including $7 million from Tuesday-night preview screenings) and $8.3 million on its second.[128] After making $16.7 million on Friday, weekend and five-day estimates were lowered to $54 million and $78 million, respectively.[129] The film went on to debut to $54.7 million in its opening weekend and a total of $78.5 million over its first five days, just behindMission: Impossible 2's $78.8 million in 2000.[130] While the film fell short of expectations after it "turned out a much lower opening weekend than expected",[131][132][133]Deadline Hollywood noted that unlikeIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023), another near-three-hour film that cost around $300 million and opened to $84 million over its first five days,Dead Reckoning Part One benefitted from better critic and audience scores.[134] Despite that, the film dropped 65% to $19.4 million in its second weekend, finishing fourth behind newcomersBarbie andOppenheimer and holdoverSound of Freedom.[135][136] At the time, it had the biggest second weekend decline of anyMission: Impossible film, breaking the previous record held byMission: Impossible 2.[137]
It made $10.6 million in its third weekend and $6.7 million in its fourth, finishing in fifth and seventh place, respectively.[138][139] After finishing its box office run, it became the second-lowest-grossing installment of the franchise domestically, only behind the $134 million gross fromMission: Impossible III (2006).[140]
The film received critical acclaim.[d] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 96% of 439 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's consensus reads: "With world-threatening stakes and epic set pieces to match that massive title,Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One proves this is still a franchise you should choose to accept."[149]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 81 out of 100, based on 66 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[150] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, whilePostTrak reported 90% of filmgoers gave it a positive score.[129]
In a positive review for theObserver,Mark Kermode gave the film four out of five stars, applauding Cruise for his acting while also praising the film for its "join-the-dots plot" and "thrilling" action.[151] Similarly,Todd McCarthy forDeadline Hollywood and Siddhant Adlakha forIGN found that the film represents "Hollywood action filmmaking at its peak" and that "if every tentpole franchise entry were this fun and finely tuned, the theatrical-versus-streaming debate would be immediately put to rest".[8][152] Brian Truitt forUSA Today lauded the action sequences, saying "it's the first half of a man vs. machine epic that doesn't skimp in the thrills department. Just don't think too hard about it, though you'll probably still give serious side-eye to your laptop."[153] Barry Hertz ofThe Globe and Mail wrote, "No narrative, characters or dialogue needed. But at nearly every turn,Dead Reckoning aims for something more than the sum of itsEvel Knievel parts."[154]
In a mixed review forLittle White Lies, Adam Woodward remarked of the film's "diminishing returns amid all the ambitious action".[155]
In June 2025,IndieWire ranked the film at number 60 on its list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 2020s (So Far)."[156] In 2025,The Hollywood Reporter listedMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One as having the best stunts of 2023.[157]
A direct sequel,Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, was released on May 23, 2025, after being delayed by the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[187][188] It was initially billed thatDead Reckoning Part One and it would be a send-off to Ethan Hunt or the final installments of the series;[189] Cruise confirmed the former.[190] In June 2023, McQuarrie toldFandango that the two films would not end the series and that they were developing ideas for future installments.[191] Originally subtitledDead Reckoning Part Two, the sequel's subtitle was removed in October 2023[187] and retitledThe Final Reckoning in November 2024.[192]
^abMadrjas, Jakub (July 29, 2020)."Posłowie i samorządowcy bronią mostu w Pilchowicach" [MPs and Local Government Officials Defend the Bridge in Pilchowice].Rynek Kolejowy (in Polish).Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. RetrievedAugust 5, 2020.
^Hildebrand, Kathleen (August 4, 2020)."Filmdreh in Polen – Tom Cruise vs. Denkmalschutz" [Film Shoot in Poland – Tom Cruise vs. Monument Protection].Süddeutsche.de (in German).Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. RetrievedAugust 11, 2020.
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