Esai Morales is back to terrorizing Tom Cruise and company in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. The veteran actor suits up once again as Gabriel, the human embodiment of The Enтιтy, a self-aware AI gone rogue that has the capability to effectively bring the world to its knees.

Morales made his debut as Gabriel in Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One in Summer 2023. That film established that Gabriel has ties that go back to the original Mission: Impossible film from 1996, as a murder he committed was directly responsible for bringing Ethan Hunt into the Impossible Mission Force.

ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley caught up with Morales ahead of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to discuss how the character of Gabriel evolved over the course of production, teases of the death-defying stunt that had him “come to terms” with his own mortality, and the perseverance of the cast and crew through both the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.

Gabriel’s Character Evolved Over The Course Of His Two Mission: Impossible Films

“I will say that I had to come to terms with my own mortality…”

Gabriel is in a unique position among the Mission: Impossible ensemble. This cryptic character was introduced in the franchise’s seventh installment, yet his origins go back to the very first chapter.

“We do these things in kind of broad strokes, and then as you shoot, you taper it into the needs of the film,” Morales explained. “These characters kind of evolve as well because it’s wherever the story takes you, that’s the interesting thing. It’s full of twists and turns. So sometimes the filmmakers, Tom and McQ will say, ‘You know what? This is fascinating. Let’s go with this.'”

With that in mind, Morales revealed that the initial concept of Gabriel was that of someone who pushes back on technological advancements, a far cry from the Enтιтy-embracing man that eventually made his way to screen.

“What I can say without ruining or spoiling is that initially the character was more of a Luddite,” Morales continued. “He was more anti-tech, and that evolved.”

That evolution continued from an action standpoint. Without spoiling specifics, Morales teased that he participates in one major setpiece that seemingly put his life on the line.

“I had to literally ask, ‘If anything happens to me, will you make sure my family’s taken care of?'” Morales teased. “There’s a historical scene in this. Tom and McQ gave me a very, very special gift, something that’s very hard to find, and on the note, Tom wrote, ‘Thanks. We made one for the ages,’ referencing the sequence I was talking about.”

Mission: Impossible’s Perseverance Through Industry-Wide Adversity

“The entire cast and crew are dedicated to keeping this craft alive…”

That “historical scene” and every other frame of the past two Mission: Impossible installments dealt with challenges that go beyond just executing on camera. ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning Part One production in 2020 was halted several times by the COVID-19 pandemic, and The Final Reckoning its filming suspended in 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

“That’s a really good question,” Morales responded when asked how Mission: Impossible kept morale up in the midst of these obstacles. “We did have issues during the pandemic and the strike. It did not help us also to lose huge screens to other very popular films, but now everything’s open for this one to be a mᴀssive success, and it should be. This is the culmination of decades of work, decades of these characters, the people that you’ve grown to love and care about.

“Sometimes you’re wondering what’s going to happen to our industry. I’m still wondering. I mean, we’re in flux right now if you think about it. Most people would rather, especially younger generations that are not conditioned or used to having to go into a huge cinema and sit in the dark with people they may not know, they don’t know and have a shared experience.”

As Morales alluded to, it’s that love of the theatrical experience that pushed Cruise and company to create something that will pack cinemas once again.

“We don’t want to lose that. There’s something special about that. There’s something unifying to the human condition about going to the movies,” Morales continued. “It’s different than watching it on your phone. It’s different than watching it at home. There’s an immediacy about not being able to push pause and go to the restroom or take a call. You’re in it. The suspension of disbelief. It has to be maintained in a movie theater or you miss out key points.

“Tom and McQ and the entire cast and crew are dedicated to keeping this craft alive, to making it interesting, to making sure that every single inch of that frame, every little millimeter is filled with things that are moving the story forward. If you watch the movie two or three times, you go, ‘Wait. Oh, look at that. I didn’t notice that the first time.’ That’s the kind of attention to detail these guys have. These men and women that are the best in their class.”

Source: ScreenRant Plus