Tom Cruise Already Spoiled Part of Ethan Hunt’s Mission: Impossible Ending

With Mission: Impossible 8 set to be Ethan Hunt’s sendoff from the action franchise, Tom Cruise already spoiled part of how his story will end. It was announced that Cruise would return to star in two more sequels directed by Christopher McQuarrie, following the success of Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Although the movies weren’t officially billed as the end of Tom Cruise’s run with the franchise, it has since been revealed that Mission: Impossible 8 was planned as the end for Ethan Hunt. Further details on what that will contain remain a mystery, but it seems one possibility is already off the table.

By the time Mission: Impossible 8 is released in theaters, Cruise will have played Ethan Hunt for nearly 30 years. His IMF agent has saved the world from a variety of threats, and while many aren’t ready to see Tom Cruise leave the Mission: Impossible franchise behind, news of this being the end raises questions about how that will be accomplished. Bringing Ethan Hunt’s story to a conclusion has to be done the right way. Thanks to the incredible secrecy surrounding Mission: Impossible 7 and its sequel, there are not a lot of clues about what Ethan Hunt’s final mission will contain. No matter the threat, Tom Cruise’s character will likely do whatever it takes to save the world one more time.

The idea that Mission: Impossible 8 will be the end of Tom Cruise’s time with the franchise immediately opens the doors for speculation that Ethan Hunt could die in the process. However, the global movie star already spoiled that this won’t happen. In the aftermath of Mission: Impossible – Fallout‘s release, Cruise was asked about Ethan Hunt’s future and the possibility that he could die on-screen in a future sequel. Dying would be an understandable way to wrap up Hunt’s story, but Tom Cruise was emphatically against the idea then. Christopher McQuarrie was more open to the idea of killing Ethan Hunt if it was done in the right way, but it is rather unlikely the Mission: Impossible star changed his mind shortly after this statement and okayed Hunt’s death for Mission: Impossible 8. As a result, that possibility can likely be ruled out.

The likelihood of Ethan Hunt not dying in Mission: Impossible 8 would fall in line with Tom Cruise’s history while going against a popular Hollywood trend. Only three or four of Cruise’s movies have ended with his character dying. Him allowing Ethan Hunt to die in Mission: Impossible 8 would go against the type of ending he prefers his characters to receive. It’s unsurprising, then, that Cruise doesn’t want arguably his most well-known character to die at the end of his journey. Although Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, and Daniel Craig’s James Bond are recent examples of major movie heroes dying in their final installments, it seems Tom Cruise doesn’t want Ethan Hunt’s ending to follow suit.

If killing Ethan Hunt is off the table for Mission: Impossible 8, there are only a few other options left for Tom Cruise’s exit from the franchise. Perhaps the most fitting of them all would be Ethan Hunt officially retiring from his IMF duties. Mission: Impossible III was the closest audiences have seen to a retired Ethan Hunt, but he could walk away into the sunset after another global saving mission. It’d give the character a peaceful resolution to his story, while also leaving the door open for Tom Cruise to return as Ethan Hunt after Mission: Impossible 8 if he ever was interested in reprising the role.