# The Mission Impossible Franchise **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 7, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763 "2025-04-07T23:46:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2025, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/1 "2025-04-07T23:46:22Z")
> **[Paramount drops action-packed Mission: Impossible—Final Reckoning trailer](https://arstechnica.com/culture/2025/04/the-gangs-back-to-wrap-up-a-mission-in-mi-final-reckoning-trailer/)** > > “If we want to bring the world back from the brink, we have to deal with him.”… Here is the trailer: > **[Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) -...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsQgc9pCyDU%2F)** > > Every choice, every mission, has all led to this. #Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning. May 23, 2025.Connect with #MissionImpossible TikTok: https://www... > _Mission: Impossible—The Final Reckoning_ hits theaters on May 23, 2025. It’s one of the most expensive films ever made, with an estimated budget of about $400 million, so Paramount needs a big box office take to turn a profit. Note that: > [_Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning_’s budget](https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-7-budget-box-office-prediction/) was $291 million, and the film **reportedly lost Paramount between $100 million and $200 million**. This was even after making $567.5 million at the box office. [https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-8-budget-record-worrying/](https://screenrant.com/mission-impossible-8-budget-record-worrying/) The previous movie loses a substantial amount of money so they spend over $100 million more on this one. My guess is that they are going to lose even more, since if anything I think there may be a declining interest in the franchise. But the big question is if this is the end of the franchise? Tom Cruise is 62. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2025, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/2 "2025-04-07T23:50:24Z")
As to end of franchise … If this is a hit there will be a new tough guy to replace the aging Cruise. Just like Bond is renewable, so is MI. Heck, MI is far less personal than Bond is. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/3 "2025-04-08T00:15:25Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > The previous movie loses a substantial amount of money AFAICT, it cost $291m to make, which _would’ve_ meant that even grossing $640m would’ve fallen short of pulling in 2.2x that — but factoring in the $71m payout they got from the insurance company means the $571m it grossed went _past_ the 2.2x mark, right? ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/4 "2025-04-08T13:15:32Z")
Completely disagree here. Modern Mission Impossible is completely a vehicle for Tom Cruise and his stunts. The series is more closely tied to him than Bond ever was up a particular actor, even Connery. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/5 "2025-04-08T13:32:36Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If this is a hit there will be a new tough guy to replace the aging Cruise. Just like Bond is renewable, so is MI. Heck, MI is far less personal than Bond is. After 29 years, Cruise _is_ the franchise. Without him, what does it have to distinguish it? It has the music, and it has the improbable rubber masks. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/6 "2025-04-08T14:29:38Z")
Ahh. Perhaps you all are right. I really do not care who the actors are in any show; they’re simply vehicles to carry the character. And in any franchise, that character is fairly mutable over time. To me there’s no such thing as e.g. “a Tom Cruise” movie. instead there are “movies; some of which have Tom Cruise in them.” Which seems to be a minority approach to entertainment in general; lotta folks are far more invested in the performers than the performance. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/7 "2025-04-08T14:35:01Z")
It’s a great series(except for 2) and I think that the last one showed the signs of covid stress during its production. The big chase sequence in the middle was actually filmed with no script, so what you see is people pretending like they know what the plot is. The only totally complete segment was the train sequence at the end. You can tell because its edit feels normal and it is great stuff. I hope this one is better and I also hope that Tom Cruise on a biplane isn’t the main stunt. I wish they would not show us the best and biggest stunt in the commercials! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/8 "2025-04-08T15:00:13Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I wish they would not show us the best and biggest stunt in the commercials! Yeah, but when they do that it’ll save you the $100 you’d otherwise spend to see it in a theater. And save you two hours. I mean imagine if e.g. Morton’s Steakhouse gave away 10z medium rare filet mignons at a stand out front hoping to entice you to come in. Who would bother? Just say “Thank you”, keep walking, and snarf that sucker letting the juice run down your arms. Then circle around for second pass. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/9 "2025-04-08T15:07:11Z")
I like the MI films (even 2) to the point that I think they are the best “Bond films”. They do what Bond used to do. Given that, must every film be the biggest, baddest, most world altering events evah? Can’t we just have a normal mission (this applies to the Bond franchise, too, and they must have realized it, because after the ridiculous over the top _Moonraker_ they went back to a straight spy caper)? And how many times are his bosses going to believe Hunt has gone rogue and actively work against him before he just says “fuck those guys”? Can’t we have a film where he has full support? But I’ll be there when it opens. What can I do, I’m hooked. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/10 "2025-04-08T15:08:45Z")
The news that Tom Cruise’s “Ethan Hunt” cannot be replaced will come as a complete shock to Steven Hill’s “Dan Briggs” and Peter Graves’ “Jim Phelps”. BTW, if you have no problem turning a character like Jim Phelps into a bad guy, then turning Ethan Hunt into a bad guy should be a piece of cake. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/11 "2025-04-08T15:24:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > then turning Ethan Hunt into a bad guy should be a piece of cake. - Not likely. They’ll come up short. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/12 "2025-04-08T15:25:35Z")
I have to point out, among all this financial discussion, that published film budgets don’t include film production tax credits, which are usually accounted to the production company in a separate item. They can be quite large, and scanning filming locations for MI7/8, they all seem to be in countries with at least 25% credits (to applicable expenses). In just the UK for example, Paramount UK claims to have spent about $1B across the latest three MI films, but also gotten credits of ~$150M. [Paramount has received more than £130 million from taxpayers to make Mission: Impossible movies in the UK | The Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/business/mission-impossible-paramount-hollywood-tom-cruise-movies-tax-credits-b1198300.html) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/13 "2025-04-08T15:50:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > turning Ethan Hunt into a bad guy should be a piece of cake. Wow, that would be an interesting end to the franchise! Have Hunt finally actually go rogue. Have the NY farmboy finally lose his do-gooder-ness and flag-waving all-American heart and unleash hell on the CIA and the world. And have him killed at the end. Maybe by Luther. And it _means_ something. OMG I’m so there! and then we can have films with a new character Dan Briggs who uses disguises and runs missions like con jobs. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/14 "2025-04-08T15:57:39Z")
As long as he kills certain rogue politicians it’s sure to be a hit. In more ways than one. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/15 "2025-04-08T16:02:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > kills certain rogue politicians I was upset in _Kingsmen_ where Obama was in on the murderous plan, so having the orange menace and President Musk be killed by Hunt in the film would be, as they say, AWESOME. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/16 "2025-04-08T16:04:58Z")
I will remind folks that we’re, admittedly at my behest, skating pretty close to the edge of what TPTB will put up with. Mind the gap. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/17 "2025-04-08T16:05:12Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And how many times are his bosses going to believe Hunt has gone rogue and actively work against him before he just says “fuck those guys”? Can’t we have a film where he has full support? He never really goes rogue in Fallout. There’s a brief moment where he’s accused of going rogue, but it’s all a big act to fool the bad guy. And it looks the trailer for this one is setting up leadership going “okay, I guess we need him.” ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/18 "2025-04-08T16:16:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Mind the gap. I had an air gap. I was talking about a film. But, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/19 "2025-04-08T16:39:22Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Without him, what does it have to distinguish it? It has the music, and it has the improbable rubber masks. That’s it. I haven’t seen any of the films since the first. Do they still do the “this tape will self destruct in five seconds” bit? I’m guessing no. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763/20 "2025-04-08T16:45:02Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I’m guessing no. You chose…unwisely. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fkXGGhuQs0o/hqdefault.jpg "This Message Will Self Destruct In Five Seconds - Mission Impossible 4") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkXGGhuQs0o) The other movies has scenes, too, including one where the “tape” scene was a trap! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mission-impossible-franchise/1016763.md?page=2)