The Final Reckoning was clearly marketed as the last entry in the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, but the film certainly leaves the door open for more sequels and spinoffs in the future. Given The Final Reckoning’s great box office performance and impressive reception among audiences, it seems increasingly unlikely that Paramount will actually go ahead with ending this profitable series.

Tom Cruise has expressed that The Final Reckoning is the end of his exhaustive Mission: Impossible career, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the franchise itself has to end too. There are many ways that Mission: Impossible could continue without Tom Cruise, allowing the actor to follow his ambitions and work on his upcoming projects while this franchise keeps moving in the background.

7

The Final Reckoning Didn’t Fully Close Ethan Hunt’s Story

There’s Still Room For An Ethan Hunt Sequel

Despite ongoing claims that The Final Reckoning marks the end of Ethan Hunt’s story in the Mission: Impossible franchise, it doesn’t exactly feel like a definitive ending for this iconic character. The conclusion of The Final Reckoning sees Ethan Hunt survive his feud with Gabriel, forced to guard the Enтιтy and keep it away from government interference after trapping it inside Luther’s storage device.

The very decision to keep Ethan alive shows that McQuarrie was at least tangentially aware that his protagonist’s story isn’t completely over, and the fact that he’s still in touch with his IMF teammates suggests that he could return in the future. Hunt has never been the kind of person to let his friends get into danger without him, so it’s unlikely that he’s simply going to stay in retirement forever while Benji and Grace continue to fight for the IMF. Even if Ethan isn’t the protagonist of a potential Mission: Impossible sequel, this unresolved ending means that he could always return.

6

Mission: Impossible Deserves To Go Out On A Higher Note

The Final Reckoning Doesn’t Represent The Best Of The Series

The response to Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has been twofold. While returning audiences have generally enjoyed the project thanks to its bold set pieces and endless series of callbacks, the critical reception has been much less positive. The film was nowhere near as beloved as Fallout, Rogue Nation, or even ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning, all of which have more impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores and arguably mark the “peak” of this franchise. It would be a huge shame for Mission: Impossible to go out with such an underwhelming whimper, especially given how exceptional most of the entries are.

Despite The Final Reckoning’s major criticisms, audiences still have a lot of respect and adoration for this franchise. It’s clear that McQuarrie’s latest movie isn’t indicative of his full potential as a director, as he’s been responsible for some of the past decade’s most creative and innovative action movies. Another Mission: Impossible sequel would give the director a much-needed opportunity to prove that he can still make films as excellent as Fallout and Rogue Nation, giving the franchise a more solid goodbye.

5

Tom Cruise Is Still Pushing For Bigger Stunts In His Other Movies

The Actor Has Some Major Action Projects Lined Up

One of the loudest narratives circulating about Cruise’s departure from Mission: Impossible is that he’s simply too far along in his career to keep risking his life for bigger and bolder stunts, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only does The Final Reckoning include Mission: Impossible’s most dangerous stunts to date, but Cruise has several exciting projects lined up where he’s going to continue pushing the boundaries of action filmmaking for the benefit of entertainment.

Cruise recently signed up for an action movie with Doug Liman that’s set to be the first Hollywood feature sH๏τ almost entirely in space, while his work on McQuarrie’s Broadsword will see him tackle even more dangerous stunts in wartime Europe. The idea that Cruise can’t continue doing Mission: Impossible because of his age and experience is simply not true, so there’s no reason he can’t come back in the future.

4

Ilsa Faust Deserves A Better Send-Off (Or Return)

Ferguson’s Character Needs A Much Better Ending

Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust quickly became a fan-favorite character following her introduction in Rogue Nation, and many viewers rightly felt underwhelmed by the way she was promptly killed off in ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Reckoning. The decision to kill Faust just to teach Hunt a lesson about loss and sacrifice was a pretty weak way of rounding off her character arc, particularly since there was no in-universe reason for her to be so easily beaten by Gabriel.

Although many audiences suspected that Ilsa would return in The Final Reckoning, this turned out not to be the case. The latest Mission: Impossible movie had the perfect opportunity to either bring Ilsa back or simply give her death some meaning, but the story mostly breezes over her presence. Another Mission: Impossible sequel now feels not just exciting, but necessary to give Ilsa the ending she deserves.

3

Mission: Impossible Is Still Making Great Box Office Numbers

The Commercial Success Of Mission: Impossible Isn’t Slowing Down

The decision about whether to continue Mission: Impossible or not ultimately comes down to one driving force: the box office. There’s no reason to invest more funds in a ninth movie if the franchise isn’t pulling in enough money, and there’s equally no reason to let it die if it’s still a commercial success. Thankfully, the eighth installment proved that audiences are still just as interested in Mission: Impossible as they have been for the past three decades, with The Final Reckoning’s box office surpᴀssing multiple important milestones.

These reports serve as definitive evidence that audiences are still enjoying Mission: Impossible despite the mixed critical reception. It’s also no secret that marketing something as the “final” installment is often a good way to increase engagement, even if there are plans for spinoffs and sequels in the future. This could definitely be the case with Mission: Impossible, as the ending to The Final Reckoning doesn’t seem as definitive as the marketing suggested.

2

There Are Several Mission: Impossible Characters Who Deserve The Donloe Treatment

William Donloe Became A Standout Character In The Final Reckoning

One of The Final Reckoning’s most exciting character decisions was the return of William Donloe, who previously appeared during the Langley vault heist in Brian de Palma’s original Mission: Impossible. Despite being absent from the rest of the franchise, Donloe was a major standout of The Final Reckoning’s cast because of how effectively his story was interwoven with Hunt’s.

The success of Donloe’s character in The Final Reckoning is both a blessing and a curse; on the one hand, it’s a very fun plot thread that allows audiences to reflect on the franchise’s history. On the other hand, it raises the question of why this hasn’t already happened to some of the series’ other familiar faces. Characters like William Brandt, Jane Carter, and Nyah are all perfectly poised to return in the same way that Donloe did, but this would only be possible if Mission: Impossible came back for another sequel.

1

The New IMF Team Is Still Alive And Busy

Benji And Grace Could Easily Lead The Next Movie

Ultimately, the main reason that Mission: Impossible shouldn’t end with The Final Reckoning is because the franchise has done a brilliant job of introducing fun, exciting side characters onto whom Ethan seems to have pᴀssed the torch. Figures like Benji and Grace have developed a lot throughout the past two movies, and there’s no reason they couldn’t lead a sequel on their own without Ethan’s help.

Ethan’s story might be over, but the ending of the eighth installment is very clear that Benji, Grace, and Degas aren’t leaving the IMF any time soon. They are the future of this series, and it seems unusual for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning to set them up so clearly as his successors if they’re never going to get their time to shine.