| Mission: Impossible | |
|---|---|
 Official film series logo | |
| Based on | Mission: Impossible byBruce Geller |
| Produced by | Tom Cruise Paula Wagner (1–3) J. J. Abrams (4–6) Christopher McQuarrie (6–8) |
| Starring | Tom Cruise Ving Rhames Henry Czerny (1, 7–8) Simon Pegg (3–8) Rebecca Ferguson (5–7) |
Production companies | Paramount Pictures Cruise/Wagner Productions (1–3) Skydance (4–8)[a] TC Productions (4–8) Bad Robot (4–6) |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 1996–present |
Running time | 110–170 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 billion (8 films) |
| Box office | $4.74 billion (8 films) |
Mission: Impossible is an Americanseries ofactionspy films, based onthe 1966 television series created byBruce Geller. The series is mainly produced byTom Cruise, who playsEthan 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 byLalo Schifrin.
Starting in 1996, the series follows 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 anensemble cast, such asLuther Stickell (played byVing Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played bySimon Pegg), who have recurring roles.
The series has experienced a generally positive reception from critics and audience. It is the16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, earning over $4.35 billion worldwide,[1] and is often cited as one of the best action franchises to date. The sixth film, subtitledFallout, was released on July 27, 2018, and is currently the series' highest-grossing entry. The seventh film,Dead Reckoning Part One,[b] was released in July 2023, and the eighth[3] film,The Final Reckoning, had its theatrical release in late May 2025. The films are co-produced and released byParamount Pictures.
In 2024, the series received its firstAcademy Award nominations, withDead Reckoning Part One being nominated in the categories ofBest Visual Effects andBest Sound at the96th ceremony.[4]
| 1996 | Mission: Impossible |
|---|---|
| 1997 | |
| 1998 | |
| 1999 | |
| 2000 | Mission: Impossible 2 |
| 2001 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2006 | Mission: Impossible III |
| 2007 | |
| 2008 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2011 | Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol |
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | Mission: Impossible – Fallout |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One |
| 2024 | |
| 2025 | Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning |
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission: Impossible | May 22, 1996 (1996-05-22) | Brian De Palma | David Koepp &Robert Towne | David Koepp &Steven Zaillian | Tom Cruise &Paula Wagner |
| Mission: Impossible 2 | May 24, 2000 (2000-05-24) | John Woo | Robert Towne | Brannon Braga &Ronald D. Moore | |
| Mission: Impossible III | May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05) | J. J. Abrams | J. J. Abrams,Roberto Orci &Alex Kurtzman | ||
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | December 16, 2011 (2011-12-16) | Brad Bird | André Nemec &Josh Appelbaum | Tom Cruise,Bryan Burk & J. J. Abrams | |
| Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31) | 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 (2018-07-27) | Christopher McQuarrie | Tom Cruise, Jake Myers, J. J. Abrams & Christopher McQuarrie | ||
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One[b] | July 12, 2023 (2023-07-12) | Christopher McQuarrie &Erik Jendresen | Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie | ||
| Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | May 23, 2025 (2025-05-23) | ||||
In the first film of the series reboot,Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team during a botched mission inPrague and accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer known only as "Max". On the run, Ethan seeks to discover the real traitor and clear his name from the incident.
In the second film, Ethan Hunt goes back in action and works with a professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie 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.
In the third film, 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".
In the fourth film, Ethan and the entire IMF are framed for the bombing of theKremlin 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.
In the fifth film, 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.
In the sixth film, 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, theCIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives.
In the seventh film, anAI called the Entity is responsible for the sinking of the next-generation Russian submarineSevastopol. The Entity has since gone rogue and entrenched itself intocyberspace; 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 the eighth film, two months later, Ethan Hunt and the IMF, joined by new allies, continue to search for the Entity, aiming to destroy it before it can trigger anuclear apocalypse.
In June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie stated thatDead Reckoning Part One andThe Final Reckoning would not end the series, as there are developments for future installments.[5] In July 2023, during promotion forDead Reckoning Part One,[b] 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.[6] Inspired byHarrison Ford's continued success in theIndiana Jones films, Cruise stated that he would like to keep makingMission: Impossible films until he is likewise in his eighties.[7] Nevertheless, in May 2025, during the New York premiere forThe Final Reckoning, Cruise confirmed that the film would be his final film in the series, stating "The film is the final! It's not called 'final' for nothing".[8]
This section includes characters who have appeared in theMission Impossible film series.
| Character | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mission: Impossible | 2 | III | Ghost Protocol | Rogue Nation | Fallout | Dead Reckoning Part One[b] | The Final Reckoning | |
| 1996 | 2000 | 2006 | 2011 | 2015 | 2018 | 2023 | 2025 | |
| Ethan Hunt | Tom Cruise | |||||||
| Luther Stickell | Ving Rhames | Ving RhamesUC | Ving Rhames | |||||
| The Voice on Tape | Henry Czerny | Anthony Hopkins | Billy CrudupV | Teddy NewtonV | Christopher McQuarrieV | Henry Czerny | Angela BassettV | |
| Eugene Kittridge | Henry Czerny | |||||||
| William Donloe | Rolf Saxon | Rolf Saxon | ||||||
| The Contact | Andreas Wisniewski | Andreas WisniewskiC | ||||||
| Jim Phelps | Jon Voight | Jon VoightUA | ||||||
| Benji Dunn | Simon Pegg | |||||||
| Julia Meade | Michelle Monaghan | Michelle MonaghanUC | Michelle Monaghan | Michelle MonaghanUA | ||||
| William Brandt | Jeremy Renner | Jeremy RennerUA | ||||||
| Ilsa Faust | Rebecca Ferguson | Rebecca FergusonUA | ||||||
| Solomon Lane | Sean Harris | Sean HarrisUAV | ||||||
| Secretary Alan Hunley | Alec Baldwin | Alec BaldwinUA | ||||||
| Alanna Mitsopolis The White Widow | Vanessa Kirby | Vanessa KirbyUAV | ||||||
| Zola Mitsopolis | Frederick Schmidt | |||||||
| Erika Sloane | Angela Bassett | Angela BassettUP | Angela Bassett | |||||
| Denlinger | Cary Elwes | |||||||
| Grace | Hayley Atwell | |||||||
| Jim Phelps Jr. Jasper Briggs | Shea Whigham | |||||||
| Theo Degas | Greg Tarzan Davis | |||||||
| Gabriel | Esai Morales | |||||||
| Paris | Pom Klementieff | |||||||
| Marie | Mariela Garriga | |||||||
| Head of theNSA | Mark Gatiss | |||||||
| Head of theNRO | Charles Parnell | |||||||
| Film | U.S. release date | Budget | Box-office gross | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | International | Worldwide | |||
| Mission: Impossible[9] | May 22, 1996 | $80 million | $180,981,856 | $276,714,535 | $457,696,391 |
| Mission: Impossible 2[10] | May 24, 2000 | $125 million | $215,409,889 | $330,978,219 | $546,388,108 |
| Mission: Impossible III[11] | May 5, 2006 | $150 million | $134,029,801 | $264,449,696 | $398,479,497 |
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol[12] | December 16, 2011 | $145 million | $209,397,903 | $485,315,477 | $694,713,380 |
| Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation[13] | July 31, 2015 | $150 million | $195,042,377 | $487,674,259 | $682,716,636 |
| Mission: Impossible – Fallout[14][15] | July 27, 2018 | $178 million | $220,159,104 | $571,498,294 | $791,657,398 |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One[b][16] | July 12, 2023 | $291 million | $172,640,980 | $398,484,455 | $571,125,435 |
| Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning[17][18] | May 23, 2025 | $300–400 million | $197,413,515 | $401,353,542 | $598,767,057 |
| Total[19] | $1.419–1.519 billion | $1,525,075,425 | $3,216,468,477 | $4,741,543,902 | |
TheMission: Impossible film series has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, withGhost Protocol throughDead Reckoning Part One[b] attracting significant praise directed towards their direction, cinematography, stunts, action sequences, performances, and musical scores.
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore[20] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission: Impossible | 65% (159 reviews)[21] | 59 (29 reviews)[22] | B+ |
| Mission: Impossible 2 | 57% (211 reviews)[23] | 59 (40 reviews)[24] | B |
| Mission: Impossible III | 73% (248 reviews)[25] | 66 (42 reviews)[26] | A− |
| Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol | 94% (250 reviews)[27] | 73 (47 reviews)[28] | A− |
| Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation | 94% (326 reviews)[29] | 75 (46 reviews)[30] | A− |
| Mission: Impossible – Fallout | 98% (443 reviews)[31] | 87 (60 reviews)[32] | A |
| Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One[b] | 96% (439 reviews)[33] | 81 (66 reviews)[34] | A |
| Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | 80% (428 reviews)[35] | 67 (57 reviews)[36] | A− |
The television version is in a rarely used5
4 time (an unusualtime signature with fivecrotchets to abar) and is difficult to dance to,[37] as was demonstrated by a memorable segment ofAmerican Bandstand in which teenage dancers were caught off-guard byDick Clark's playing of theLalo Schifrin single release.
The opening theme music for the eight films are stylized renditions of Schifrin'soriginal iconic theme, preserving the5
4 rhythm, byDanny Elfman,Hans Zimmer,Michael Giacchino,Joe Kraemer,Lorne Balfe, Max Aruj, and Alfie Godfrey, respectively.[citation needed]
ForAdam Clayton andLarry Mullen Jr.'s version featured on the first film's motion picture soundtrack, the time signature was changed to standard pop4
4 time to make it more dance-friendly, although the intro is still in5
4 time.[37] TheLimp Bizkit song "Take a Look Around" from the soundtrack to the second film was set to a similar4
4 modification of the theme, with an interlude in5
4.[citation needed]
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Travel information from Wikivoyage
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