The final reckoning

Great news for Ethan Hunt fans: the title and trailer for the eighth Mission Impossible film has finally been revealed. On Monday, Tom Cruise took to Instagram to share the official poster and trailer for Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, slated to finally hit theatres on May 23, 2025.

Whizzing past famous London landmarks in a runtime of just over two minutes, the trailer has all the action-packed elements destined to whet the appetite of all Mission Impossible fans. Cruise's adrenaline-fuelled Ethan can be seen sprinting for his life, engaging in a high-thrill car chase, scuba diving and exploring a wrecked submarine, and flying (and subsequently dangling) off a biplane. "I need you to trust me… one last time," says Ethan sombrely as the trailer ends.

According to Variety, the final instalment of the action franchise had been scheduled for a 2022 release before being subject to multiple delays due to the pandemic and SAG-AFTRA actors strike. As per Screen Rant, The Final Reckoning will pick up where Dead Reckoning left off, with Ethan embarking on a mission to find the Sevastopol and destroy the Entity.

For the unversed, Dead Reckoning sees Ethan up against a dangerous AI program called The Entity that seems to predict his every move and could cause disaster if it falls into the wrong hands. After escaping a calamitous train crash at the end of the film, Ethan realises The Entity is stashed aboard an old Russian submarine, but a foe from Ethan's past named Gabriel (Esai Morales) is also on the trail.

The cast welcomes back Morales, as well as Angela Bassett, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, and Indira Varma. The Final Reckoning is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed previous Mission Impossible films Rogue Nation, Fallout and Dead Reckoning. In addition to having worked on the spy thriller series, McQuarrie has previously worked with Cruise on Top Gun: Maverick and the Jack Reacher franchise.