Mission: Impossible (film series)

Mission: Impossible is an American series of action spy films, based on the 1966 TV series created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by Tom Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored by various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.

Mission: Impossible
Official film series logo
Based on	Mission: Impossible by Bruce Geller
Produced by	Tom Cruise Paula Wagner (1–3) J. J. Abrams (4–6) Christopher McQuarrie (6–8)
Starring	Tom Cruise Ving Rhames Henry Czerny (1, 7–8) Simon Pegg (3–8) Rebecca Ferguson (5–7)
Production companies	Paramount Pictures Cruise/Wagner Productions (1–3) Skydance (4–8)[a] TC Productions (4–8) Bad Robot (4–6)
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	1996–present
Running time	1103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.5 billion (8 films)
Box office	$4.74 billion (8 films)

Starting in 1996, it follows the missions of the IMF's main field team, under Hunt's leadership, to stop an enemy force and prevent an impending global disaster. The series focuses on Hunt's character, and like the television series' structure, is complemented by an ensemble cast, such as Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg), who have recurring roles.

The series has experienced a generally positive reception from critics and audience. It is the 16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, earning over $4.35 billion worldwide,^[1] and is often cited as one of the best action franchises to date. The sixth film, subtitled Fallout, was released on July 27, 2018, and is currently the series' highest-grossing entry. The seventh film, Dead Reckoning Part One,^[b] was released in July 2023, and the eighth^[3] film, The Final Reckoning, had its theatrical release in late May 2025. The films are co-produced and released by Paramount Pictures.

In 2024, the series received its first Academy Award nominations, with Dead Reckoning Part One being nominated in the categories of Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the 96th ceremony.^[4]

Films

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Main article: Mission: Impossible (film)

Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team during a botched mission in Prague and accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer known only as "Max". On the run, Ethan seeks to discover the real traitor and clear his name from the incident.

Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)

Main article: Mission: Impossible 2

Ethan Hunt goes back in action and works with a professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandiwe Newton). The duo go undercover to stop rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) (who is also Nyah's former lover) from stealing a deadly virus, starting a pandemic and selling the antidote to the highest bidder.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Main article: Mission: Impossible III

Ethan is engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), who is unaware of his true job. He assembles a team to face the elusive arms and information broker Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who intends to sell a mysterious dangerous object known as "The Rabbit's Foot".

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Main article: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Ethan and the entire IMF are framed for the bombing of the Kremlin while investigating an individual known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist). Ethan and three other agents are left to stop Cobalt from starting a global nuclear war.

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Main article: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Ethan Hunt comes under threat from the Syndicate. Faced with the IMF's disbandment, Hunt assembles his team for their mission to prove the Syndicate's existence and bring the organization down by any means necessary.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Main article: Mission: Impossible – Fallout

When an IMF mission to recover plutonium goes wrong, the world is faced with the threat of the Apostles, a terrorist group formed by former members of the Syndicate. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill the original mission, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)^[b]

Main article: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

An AI called the Entity is responsible for the sinking of the next-generation Russian submarine Sevastopol. The Entity has since gone rogue and entrenched itself into cyberspace; the secret to stopping or controlling it lies with the key, which Ethan Hunt and the IMF must track down, as various world powers and nefarious forces race to obtain the key in order to use the Entity for their own purpose.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)

Main article: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Two months later, Ethan Hunt and the IMF, joined by new allies, continue to search for the Entity, aiming to destroy it before it can trigger a nuclear apocalypse.

Future

In June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie stated that Dead Reckoning Part One and The Final Reckoning would not end the series, as there are developments for future installments.^[5] In July 2023, during promotion for Dead Reckoning Part One,^[b] Cruise expressed interest in continuing to make further films in the series as Ethan Hunt, despite both films having previously been billed as a send-off to the character.^[6] Inspired by Harrison Ford's continued success in the Indiana Jones films, Cruise stated that he would like to keep making Mission: Impossible films until he is likewise in his eighties.^[7] Nevertheless, in May 2025, during the New York premiere for The Final Reckoning, Cruise confirmed that the film would be his final film in the series, stating "The film is the final! It’s not called 'final' for nothing".^[8]

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter(s)	Story by	Producers
Mission: Impossible	May 22, 1996 (1996-05-22)	Brian De Palma	David Koepp & Robert Towne	David Koepp & Steven Zaillian	Tom Cruise & Paula Wagner
Mission: Impossible 2	May 24, 2000 (2000-05-24)	John Woo	Robert Towne	Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore
Mission: Impossible III	May 5, 2006 (2006-05-05)	J. J. Abrams	J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol	December 16, 2011 (2011-12-16)	Brad Bird	André Nemec & Josh Appelbaum		Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk & J. J. Abrams
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	July 31, 2015 (2015-07-31)	Christopher McQuarrie	Christopher McQuarrie	Drew Pearce & Christopher McQuarrie	Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk, Don Granger, J. J. Abrams, Dana Goldberg & David Ellison
Mission: Impossible – Fallout	July 27, 2018 (2018-07-27)		Christopher McQuarrie		Tom Cruise, Jake Myers, J. J. Abrams & Christopher McQuarrie
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One[b]	July 12, 2023 (2023-07-12)		Christopher McQuarrie & Erik Jendresen		Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning	May 23, 2025 (2025-05-23)

Recurring cast and characters

List indicators

This section includes characters who have appeared in the Mission Impossible film series.

• An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film.
•  ^A indicates an appearance through archival footage or audio.
•  ^C indicates a cameo role.
•  ^P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
•  ^U indicates an uncredited appearance.
•  ^V indicates a voice-only role.

Overview of Mission: Impossible cast and crew

Character
	Mission: Impossible	2	III	Ghost Protocol	Rogue Nation	Fallout	Dead Reckoning[b]	The Final Reckoning
	1996	2000	2006	2011	2015	2018	2023	2025
Ethan Hunt	Tom Cruise
Luther Stickell	Ving Rhames			Ving RhamesUC	Ving Rhames
The Voice on Tape	Henry Czerny	Anthony HopkinsV	Billy CrudupV	Teddy NewtonV		Christopher McQuarrieV	Henry Czerny	Angela Bassett
Eugene Kittridge								Henry Czerny
William Donloe	Rolf Saxon							Rolf Saxon
The Contact	Andreas Wisniewski			Andreas WisniewskiC
Jim Phelps	Jon Voight							Jon VoightUA
Benji Dunn			Simon Pegg
Julia Meade			Michelle Monaghan	Michelle MonaghanUC		Michelle Monaghan		Michelle MonaghanUA
William Brandt				Jeremy Renner				Jeremy RennerUA
Ilsa Faust					Rebecca Ferguson			Rebecca FergusonUA
Solomon Lane					Sean Harris			Sean HarrisUAV
Secretary Alan Hunley					Alec Baldwin			Alec BaldwinUA
Alanna Mitsopolis The White Widow						Vanessa Kirby		Vanessa KirbyUAV
Zola Mitsopolis						Frederick Schmidt
Erika Sloane						Angela Bassett	Angela BassettUP	Angela Bassett
Denlinger							Cary Elwes
Grace							Hayley Atwell
Jim Phelps Jr. Jasper Briggs							Shea Whigham
Theo Degas							Greg Tarzan Davis
Gabriel							Esai Morales
Paris							Pom Klementieff
Marie							Mariela Garriga
Head of the NSA							Mark Gatiss
Head of the NRO							Charles Parnell

Additional crew and production details

Production details of Mission: Impossible films

Film	Crew/Detail
	Composer	Cinematographer	Editor(s)	Production companies	Distributing companies	Running time
Mission: Impossible	Danny Elfman	Stephen H. Burum	Paul Hirsch	Paramount Pictures Cruise/Wagner Productions	Paramount Pictures	110 min
Mission: Impossible 2	Hans Zimmer	Jeffrey L. Kimball	Steven Kemper Christian Wagner	Paramount Pictures Cruise/Wagner Productions Munich Film Partners & Company		124 min
Mission: Impossible III	Michael Giacchino	Dan Mindel	Mary Jo Markey Maryann Brandon	Paramount Pictures Cruise/Wagner Productions The Fourth Production Company Film Group		126 min
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol		Robert Elswit	Paul Hirsch	TC Productions Skydance Media Paramount Pictures Bad Robot		133 min
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	Joe Kraemer		Eddie Hamilton			131 min
Mission: Impossible – Fallout	Lorne Balfe	Rob Hardy				147 min
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning[b]		Fraser Taggart		TC Productions Skydance Media Paramount Pictures		163 min
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning	Max Aruj Alfie Godfrey					170 min

Reception

Box office performance

Box-office performance of Mission: Impossible films (Dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation)

Film	U.S. release date	Budget	Box-office gross
			Domestic	International	Worldwide
Mission: Impossible[9]	May 22, 1996	$80 million	$180,981,856	$276,714,535	$457,696,391
Mission: Impossible 2[10]	May 24, 2000	$125 million	$215,409,889	$330,978,219	$546,388,108
Mission: Impossible III[11]	May 5, 2006	$150 million	$134,029,801	$264,449,696	$398,479,497
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol[12]	December 16, 2011	$145 million	$209,397,903	$485,315,477	$694,713,380
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation[13]	July 31, 2015	$150 million	$195,042,377	$487,674,259	$682,716,636
Mission: Impossible – Fallout[14][15]	July 27, 2018	$178 million	$220,159,104	$571,498,294	$791,657,398
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning[b][16]	July 12, 2023	$291 million	$172,640,980	$398,484,455	$571,125,435
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning[17][18]	May 23, 2025	$300–400 million	$197,400,368	$398,200,000	$595,600,368
Total[19]		$1.419–1.519 billion	$1,525,062,278	$3,213,314,935	$4,738,377,213

Critical and public response

The Mission: Impossible film series has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with Ghost Protocol through Dead Reckoning Part One^[b] attracting significant praise directed towards their direction, cinematography, stunts, action sequences, performances, and musical scores.

Critical and popular reception of Mission: Impossible films

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore[20]
Mission: Impossible	65% (159 reviews)[21]	59 (29 reviews)[22]	B+
Mission: Impossible 2	57% (211 reviews)[23]	59 (40 reviews)[24]	B
Mission: Impossible III	73% (248 reviews)[25]	66 (42 reviews)[26]	A−
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol	94% (250 reviews)[27]	73 (47 reviews)[28]	A−
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	94% (326 reviews)[29]	75 (46 reviews)[30]	A−
Mission: Impossible – Fallout	98% (443 reviews)[31]	87 (60 reviews)[32]	A
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning[b]	96% (435 reviews)[33]	81 (66 reviews)[34]	A
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning	80% (417 reviews)[35]	67 (57 reviews)[36]	A−

Music

Theme

The television version is in a rarely used ⁵
₄ time (an unusual time signature with five crotchets to a bar) and is difficult to dance to,^[37] as was demonstrated by a memorable segment of American Bandstand in which teenage dancers were caught off-guard by Dick Clark's playing of the Lalo Schifrin single release.

The opening theme music for the eight films are stylized renditions of Schifrin's original iconic theme, preserving the ⁵
₄ rhythm, by Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, Michael Giacchino, Joe Kraemer, Lorne Balfe, Max Aruj, and Alfie Godfrey, respectively.^{[citation needed]}

For Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.'s version featured on the first film's motion picture soundtrack, the time signature was changed to standard pop ⁴
₄ time to make it more dance-friendly, although the intro is still in ⁵
₄ time.^[37] The Limp Bizkit song "Take a Look Around" from the soundtrack to the second film was set to a similar ⁴
₄ modification of the theme, with an interlude in ⁵
₄.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

1. Known as Skydance Productions for the fourth and fifth films.
2. Retroactively retitled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning upon release on streaming platforms.^[2]