Why Next Mission: Impossible Sequels Were Split Into Two Parts

Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 director Christopher McQuarrie explains why the next installment of the action franchise had to be split up into two films. The first Mission: Impossible film came out in 1996, and that it’s still around now is a testament to its increasing quality and star Tom Cruise’s proclivity for insane, death-defying stunts. The last film, 2018’s Mission: Impossible – Fallout, earned rave reviews and over $787.4 million worldwide (the most of any Mission: Impossible film). Following the great heights of Fallout, expectations are high for the next two films, especially since they are two parts of the same whole.

Concrete details about the plot for either film are still unknown, but it’s amassed an impressive roster of new and familiar faces so far. In addition to Cruise, returning players include Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames. Adding to the excitement (and the idea that these movies are going deeper than ever before) is the return of Henry Czerny as former IMF boss Kittridge for the first time since the original Mission: Impossible. Newcomers to the franchise are Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, and Nicholas Hoult, who might be playing the films’ villain.

McQuarrie, who directed both Fallout and the previous film Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, is returning for both 7 and 8. He also wrote the script for both installments, which is largely why they’re being split into two films. While appearing on the Mission: Impossible podcast Light the Fuse, McQuarrie explained that since Fallout had such a rich, emotional journey for Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, he wanted to expand that for the next film. “Going into this, I said, ‘I want to take what we learned from Fallout and apply it to every character in the movie,” said McQuarrie. “I want everyone to have an emotional arc… I just want the movie to have more feeling across the board.” He added, “We realized we had a movie that was two hours, 40 minutes long. And every scene in it was necessary.”

Starting with Rogue Nation, the Mission: Impossible films began to develop a more serialized story, where lingering threads from previous films continued into the next. It’s arguably made the franchise stronger, as interest in the characters and a desire to see where the story goes can bring audiences back. Exactly what kind of emotional arcs will be included in Mission: Impossible 7 and 8, McQuarrie has yet to say. Still, it sounds compelling, and it’ll be interesting to see where the franchise goes.

Mission: Impossible 7 is still in production, though filming was delayed back in February due to the coronavirus pandemic. That setback has pushed the film’s release from July 2021 to November 2021, with Mission: Impossible 8 following a year later. Exactly when production will resume is unclear, but hopefully the delay won’t stretch on for much longer. Perhaps once things get moving again, fans will get to learn more about what both films will be about. Until then, they just have to be patient.