Warning! Minor spoilers ahead for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning star Hayley Atwell reveals that she was very pregnant while filming one hard-hitting action scene. Directed by franchise veteran Christopher McQuarrie, the eighth and seemingly final Mission: Impossible movie features Tom Cruise back as Ethan Hunt, finishing his fight against the evil AI known as The Enтιтy. After her introduction in Mission: Impossible – ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning (2023), Atwell returns in The Final Reckoning‘s cast as Grace, a skilled pickpocket, and one sequence early on in the film features her and Ethan escaping capture from Gabriel’s (Esai Morales) henchmen in London.
During a recent interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Atwell reveals that this gritty London fight scene featured in The Final Reckoning was filmed as she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant. The star explains that the production took measures to ensure her safety and comfort, but she was still determined to do much of the action herself. Check out her explanation below:
“During this fight sequence – we came back to it a few times to add a few elements to it – and in this clip, I’m actually eight-and-a-half months pregnant.
[…]
And I have to say, I was taken such good care of. Everyone was so supportive and they were like, ‘Oh, you can sit down and we’ll have a stunt double do it.’ And I was like, ‘No, I’ve worked too hard! Let me do it.’ So, I did it.”
What This Means For The Final Reckoning
Hayley Atwell’s Dedication Explained
It’s no secret that Cruise has high expectations for his costars in the Mission: Impossible franchise. Cruise may take on the most dangerous stunts, but many supporting actors in the movies also undergo training if they will be involved in any action sequences. Atwell’s comment suggests that she trained to be able to pull off this Grace action sequence in the movie, and this tracks with her comments at Awesome Con 2022 (via Fandom Spotlite) about ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, in which she said she “trained for five months full time” with “an Olympic martial art expert.”
Atwell’s dedication to doing this Final Reckoning fight sequence herself speaks to her dedication as a new star in this franchise, and also to Grace’s bigger role in the film. Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Foust dies in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, meaning Ethan’s team was down a crucial member. In The Final Reckoning, Grace becomes an integral part of what remains of the IMF, working with Ethan to take down Gabriel, and she even gets her own standout dogsled sequence when the action eventually moves to the Arctic.
Our Take On Grace’s London Fight Sequence In The Final Reckoning
Mission: Impossible Gets Smaller-Scale Fight Scenes Right
Image via Paramount Pictures
Grace was a standout character in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, bringing a charming energy to the film and making pickpocketing an interesting part of the story. She arguably brings less levity to The Final Reckoning, which is a generally much more serious film, but she is still ultimately a welcome part of Ethan’s team. The London fight sequence may not match the highs of The Final Reckoning‘s climactic plane sequence (or Fallout‘s stellar bathroom fight), but it does show that this franchise still knows how to deliver hard-hitting fistfights.
The Final Reckoning has been generally well-received, earning an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but Mission: Impossible – Fallout is still the highest-scoring entry in the series at 98%.
It remains unclear if Mission: Impossible 9 will happen, as the latest film has certainly been positioned as the end of the saga. If Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning isn’t the end, however, Atwell has certainly proven that Grace should return for any future adventures.
Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
