Sorry, the ‘Mission: Impossible’ Sequels Probably Aren’t Going to the Moon
After the literal and figurative heights of “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” it’s hard to see a viable, satisfying path to a continuation of the long-running action franchise. Still, as the only returning director in the series, Christopher McQuarrie thinks he may have found a way to make that happen.
“You’ve got to make something that swallows the last three movies whole,” McQuarrie said in a recent interview with Empire. “I’m freaked out now. We’ve talked ourselves into something. Holy shit.”
Still, despite the fact that one of the standout sequences of “Fallout” was centered around Tom Cruise actually doing a high-altitude HALO jump, McQuarrie explained that taking that ambition deeper doesn’t mean going deeper into the solar system — many have joked that the only way to go bigger and more epic than “Fallout” would be a journey into space.
“Here’s the problem with going to the moon: how do you fall from the moon?” McQuarrie said.
While it’s worth noting that McQuarrie hasn’t totally counted out a space mission quite yet, his role as writer and director on “Mission: Impossible 7” and “Mission: Impossible 8” gives the series its first big shot to tell a single story over two films. It could involve travel to zero gravity. It could involve interdimensional beings sent to clone Ethan Hunt for their own purposes. It could involve Icelandic shipping conglomerates. We literally don’t know much else about the two movies, beyond McQuarrie’s plans to film both movies at the same time for eventual releases in 2021 and 2022. (He had to learn to fly a helicopter for “Fallout,” so maybe a move to space would send Cruise to a special astronaut training program. The world can only hope.)
But the end of “Fallout” left a few different threads dangling, complete with possible ways the series could continue. Vanessa Kirby’s the White Widow is still out there, available to broker deals at any level of atmosphere. The last vestiges of the IMF team are still kicking (again, literally and figuratively), with any number of potential recruits to help make these super-sized installments of the trilogy possible.
Whatever happens, the team behind these next movies better make sure to bring Lorne Balfe along. “Fallout” and “Escape Through Paris” are enough to make you want to take off into orbit all on your own.
You may also like
