The Mission: Impossible franchise is finally coming to an end with the highly anticipated Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and its upcoming release has inspired plenty of audiences to return to Brian De Palma’s 1996 in recent months. The film takes a much grittier and more grounded approach than the most recent sequels, exploring Ethan Hunt’s vendetta with an IMF agent named Kittridge, who believes that Hunt has been informing on their organization to a band of dangerous European criminals. It’s one of the best movies in the entire series, but it could have been extremely different under slightly different circumstances.

The behind-the-scenes production of Mission: Impossible was a relatively smooth one in comparison to the daring antics of the later sequels, but there were still plenty of dangerous stunts in 1996’s Mission: Impossible that made filming quite a turbulent process. Interestingly, there were also several major character decisions where the film’s crew clashed with its actors, causing significant changes to the script that have left a lasting impact on the series as a whole. Luther Stickwell is the most evident example, as his character was supposed to have a very different fate.

Luther Was Originally Meant To Die In Mission: Impossible 1996 Before Ving Rhames Spoke Up

Ving Rhames Immediately Saved Luther’s Life

Although it’s hard to imagine the Mission: Impossible franchise without Ving Rhames’ iconic character Luther Stickwell, the series could have taken a very different route right from the beginning of Brian De Palma’s 1996 movie. It’s been confirmed that Luther was originally going to be killed in the movie. This reportedly would’ve happened along with the other members of Ethan Hunt’s crew during their mission in Prague, even though Luther isn’t part of the team in the final cut. Luther’s fate only changed after Ving Rhames spoke his mind.

Before Luther’s fate was solidified, Rhames joked that it wasn’t a good look for the movie to kill “the only [Black] man” right away, and De Palma obliged (via BuzzFeed). The actor pointed out a longtime Hollywood trend of killing its Black characters early on in a movie, and De Palma listened. The script was changed afterward, allowing Luther to play a very different role and continue on in the franchise.

This seemingly minor decision changed the trajectory of the Mission: Impossible movies forever, and it all happened because of a lighthearted comment that Ving Rhames made on set. This also highlights how flexible the crew of the original movie was; this was Cruise’s first project since starting his production company Cruise/Wagner Productions, and the actor was heavily involved in the creative decisions behind the film. He clearly agreed with De Palma about keeping Luther alive, and he’s since kept Rhames around for every single subsequent movie.

Luther Dying In Mission: Impossible’s First Movie Would’ve Radically Changed The Franchise

The Character Is A Necessary Part Of The Franchise

The reason Luther has appeared in every Mission: Impossible movie is simple: he’s a hugely entertaining character, and his on-screen rapport with Cruise’s protagonist helps ground the early sequels in friendship and camaraderie. However, if he’d been killed off during the Prague heist as De Palma had initially planned, none of this would’ve been possible. The effects would have been felt right away – his absence would have left scenes like the Langley heist and the train chase less exciting, as his character is responsible for much of the behind-the-scenes tech that goes into these operations.

Additionally, it makes plenty of narrative sense for Luther to be among the disavowed IMF agents whom Ethan encounters when his old ones are killed. The fact that he’s initially standoffish and suspicious of Ethan’s mission makes their unlikely friendship even more compelling, and this wouldn’t have been possible if the character had been unnecessarily killed right away. Those early deaths are brilliant sources of shock value that immediately suck the audience into the film, but too many fallen agents could have easily come across as lazy writing.

How The Mission: Impossible Franchise Would Be Different If Luther Died In The First Movie

Things Would Be Very Different Today If Rhames Hadn’t Spoken Up

Since making it through the first movie, Luther has become an integral part of this action franchise. Not only has he facilitated some of Mission: Impossible’s best stunts with his hacking tricks and apтιтude for technology, but he’s also brought a much-needed sense of companionship to Ethan as the only character to appear alongside him in every sequel. Benji fulfills a similar role eventually, but Luther is the only one who’s been there since the very beginning. The Mission: Impossible movies get progressively more sentimental with every pᴀssing sequel, and the friendship between Ethan and Luther is a core reason for that.

It’s also worth noting that, while presented as a joke, Rhames’ statement about Mission: Impossible killing its only Black character right at the beginning is absolutely true. The franchise would undoubtedly be a much less diverse and inclusive one if Rhames hadn’t been brought along for the sequels, and this could have become a justified source of criticism for Cruise’s pᴀssion project. Thankfully, Rhames’ character is always written into the stories well enough to avoid any of these potential problems. He’s among the best characters in the Mission: Impossible franchise, and the series wouldn’t be the same without him.

Luther Not Dying In Mission: Impossible Was Easily The Right Decision

The Character Was Never Supposed To Be An Expendable One

While it was definitely a smart decision to kill so many characters during the original Mission: Impossible’s Prague heist for dramatic effect, it was even more intelligent to ensure that Luther wasn’t one of them. He could have easily become a walking stereotype (much like Emilio Estevez’s character Jack Harmon), but the writers saw a more promising future for him instead – and the later sequels ensured that this future was made a reality.

Luther Stickwell is, in many ways, the emotional core of the Mission: Impossible franchise. While it’s Tom Cruise’s protagonist who attracts audiences the the cinema with his daring stunts and “cool guy” persona, the films as a whole wouldn’t be anywhere near as compelling without somebody more grounded like Luther to keep the stakes high and remind viewers that above all, this is a story about protecting those you love and going to any lengths to do so. As it turns out, one offhand comment in the 1990s has transformed Mission: Impossible from a gritty spy drama into a personal, sweeping story about friendship and sacrifice.