Ilsa Faust’s Eyepatch Teases How Dangerous Mission: Impossible 7 Is

The Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One trailer teases how this is the most dangerous entry in the franchise, thanks in large part to Ilsa Faust’s eyepatch. Even though Paramount has been forced to repeatedly delay the highly anticipated sequel multiple times, excitement for the next Mission: Impossible movie is as high as ever. The release of Mission: Impossible 7‘s trailer offered the first glimpse at Tom Cruise’s return as Ethan Hunt. It also showed some new characters and new looks for familiar faces, while teasing the threat facing IMF this time around.

One of the most intriguing moments from the Mission: Impossible 7 trailer was the reveal of Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust having an eyepatch. The footage only features a few shots of her with this new look, and there is no direct explanation for why she wears it. Ilsa’s swordfight with one of the movie’s villains could be one possible explanation. Even without knowing the full extent of what happened to her, Ilsa Faust’s eyepatch is actually a subtle tease of just how dangerous Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will be for the characters.

The most likely reason Ilsa Faust has an eyepatch in the Mission: Impossible 7 trailer is because she’s lost her eye. A less severe reason could just be that she’s had a minor injury to it but still can’t see. This might seem like a minor detail in the grand scheme of Dead Reckoning‘s globe-trotting mission and crazy action sequences, but it does prove that there is real danger facing Ethan Hunt, Ilsa Faust, and others this time. Instead of the main characters walking away from their latest impossible mission without any real lasting repercussions, Ilsa’s eyepatch indicates that Mission: Impossible 7 is so dangerous that they will lose in some fashion along the way.

Even though the Mission: Impossible franchise is built on Ethan Hunt trying to save the world from unprecedented threats, he and the IMF team hardly lose in any major way. Ethan Hunt always saves the day in the end and doesn’t even have so much as a scar to show for everything he’s been through. The stakes are always high in the Mission: Impossible movies, but the examples of the team losing loved ones or colleagues is small. The characters losing in other ways also doesn’t happen very often even with their dangerous missions.

Ilsa Faust’s eyepatch seems to be a clear sign that Mission: Impossible 7 is raising the bar to really put the characters in danger. It’s a small example of how writer/director Christopher McQuarrie could include plenty of loss for Ethan Hunt and others as part of the two-part Mission: Impossible franchise finale. In reality, Ilsa Faust’s eyepatch could be a promise that the characters will lose in much greater ways due to their most dangerous mission yet. Whether or not that includes Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One killing off a major franchise character, such as Ilsa, remains to be seen though.