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Mission: Impossible movie franchise has been delivering action thrillers since 1996. Actor Tom Cruise has been appearing in the film series as the lead, Ethan Hunt, for over two decades. Known for elaborate action sequences and large-scale stunts, the movies under the franchise have also achieved significant reception from the audience worldwide.
Mission: Impossible movie franchise is an adaptation of the 1966 television series created by Bruce Geller for Desilu Productions. Following the fictional adventure of spy agent Ethan Hunt from Impossible Missions Force (IMF), the films include varied high-risk missions that he embarks on to save the globe from large-scale mishaps. A new part of the series, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, is all set to release on May 23, 2025.
As of 2025, there are eight films under the Mission: Impossible franchise. The upcoming movie marks the eighth chapter of Ethan's adventures as the character unravels a complex world of mysteries and difficulties.
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All about the eight movies under the Mission: Impossible franchise
1) Mission: Impossible (1996)
A special team under the IMF is tasked to prevent the theft of the CIA's top-secret NOC list of undercover agents. However, all the members meet a tragic end, with only the team's point man, Ethan Hunt, surviving the failed mission.
Ethan then discovers the IMF's larger plot behind the incident, to find the mole in the team. Ethan, falsely accused by the IMF, escapes and goes on a mission to retrieve the stolen NOC list and find who is the real mole in the organisation.
Directed by Brian De Palma, other actors featured in this film include Jon Voight, Henry Czerny, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, and more.
2) Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Ethan returns with a special mission, the tension point of the film being the biological weapon, the Chimera virus. Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), an IMF agent in the past, wreaks havoc as he takes control of the weapon and its cure called 'Bellerophon', both originally developed by the company Biocyte. Ethan sets out on a mission to stop Ambrose's plan of unleashing a pandemic to gain monetary power.
Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton), a thief and Ambrose's past lover, collaborates with Ethan on a high-risk task. Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) also returns in the film to help Ethan.
The film, directed by John Woo, follows the dangerous unfolding of events as Ethan confronts Ambrose to save the world from a deadly pandemic. Actors Richard Roxburgh, John Polson, Brendan Gleeson, Rade Šerbedžija, and more also feature in this part of the spy franchise.
3) Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Returning on another top mission six years later, Ethan Hunt handles tougher situations in Mission: Impossible III, directed by J.J. Abrams. Ethan gets engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), eventually planning to step down from his spy life, which Julia doesn't know about. However, grave tensions and impending dangers call him back to the latest IMF mission.
He is tasked by John Musgraves, Director of Operations at the IMF, along with a team, to rescue an IMF personnel who was kidnapped while handling the case of arms dealer Owen Davian. Along with the rescue, tracking Owen reveals more secrets to Ethan and his team. The dangerous 'Rabbit's Foot' element further complicates the case.
As events unfold, Julia is also dragged into this risky mission, with Ethan having to tell her the truth about his profession. Ethan, Julia, IMF technician Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Ethan's old friend and partner Luther Stickell, and other team members together solve the case as they overthrow the arms dealer and his IMF insider support.
4) Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
With a higher scale of action and mission in place, the franchise returned with Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol in 2011. Directed by Brad Bird, the film introduces a new challenge for Ethan: nuclear war.
Following a series of failed events in a project leading to a large-scale blast in the Kremlin, the IMF is disavowed by the American government. Ethan discovers Kurt Hendricks (Michael Nyqvist), a.k.a. 'Cobalt', as the mastermind behind the blast and his plans for nuclear war. What follows is a series of complexities and hurdles that test Ethan on every step as he tries to save the world.
With the characters of Julia, Benji, and Luther returning in the film, other actors who star in this film are Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Léa Seydoux, and more.
5) Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Director Christopher McQuarrie raised the bar of risk, danger, and complexity with the fifth part of the franchise. Ethan is captured by a crime group, Syndicate, whose mission is to inflict major acts of terror across the globe to reshape the world on their terms. They capture Hunt and plan to place all the blame for the devastation on the agent.
As Ethan runs away, he simultaneously seeks the help of his team to bring the plans of the Syndicate and their leader, Solomon Lane, to a halt. Jeremy Renner returned as Brandt in this part, along with the other previously shown characters such as Benji and Luther. Former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) plays a vital role in this film.
The film's cast also includes Sean Harris, Tom Hollander, Alec Baldwin, and more.
6) Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)
Mission: Impossible - Fallout continues the adventurous mission of Ethan from the previous movie. With Syndicate left in shatters at the end of the last part, the remaining gang reconstitutes itself as a new team called the Apostles. John Lark leads this new team and continues the plan for nuclear war by acquiring plutonium cores.
Joined by the CIA agent Arthur Walker (Henry Cavill) and former characters such as Benji, Luther, and Ilsa, Ethan puts a strong foot forward in bringing the Apostles down and saving the day.
The new cast who joined this film include Vanessa Kirby, Angela Bassett, and more. Actors such as Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, and Alec Baldwin reprised their roles from the previous parts in this film.
7) Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
The seventh part of the franchise, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, follows Ethan as he faces a new age challenge, the AI called 'the Entity'. Following its activation and advanced strength on the Russian submarine, Sevastopol, many across the globe set out to gain the cruciform key to control the Entity.
This forms Ethan's new task for the film - to get hold of the cruciform key before it goes into the bad hands. The film includes massive stunts and complex action sequences that add to the intensity of the storyline.
Along with Ethan's recurring team of characters, actors like Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Indira Varma, and more also joined the franchise through this film.
8) Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025)
The eighth part of the Mission: Impossible franchise is releasing on May 23, 2025. It will continue the story from the previous film. Ethan will set out on an even tougher mission to prevent Gabriel (Esai Morales) from taking control of the Entity.
The trailer brings back the memories of all the missions Ethan has taken so far, establishing that this film will include difficulties like never before. Christopher McQuarrie has directed the upcoming release.
The cast of the film includes Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, and more.
Watch Mission: Impossible films on Paramount+.
