We Love Tom Cruise But He NEEDS to Let Ethan Hunt Die in 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning'

Look, no one is saying outright thatMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningwill be the last installment in the beloved franchise. But let’s be honest—you don’t choose that title and conclude your trailer withTom Cruisesaying, “I need you to trust me one last time,” if you’re notthinking about the end.With the last film,Dead Reckoning(originally attached with “Part 1” at the end of its title), leaving unsolved business in Ethan Hunt’s (Cruise) chase to stop the growth of The Entity, audiences can hardly hold their excitement to watch how this saga concludes. Still,Mission: Impossiblefans know how this needs to end. More than death-defying stunts and thrilling chase and combat sequences,The Final Reckoningindicates that our bold and fearless IMF super-spy will meet his heroic demise in his fight to protect humanity. As morbid as it sounds, any other outcome would feel cheapened.

Tom Cruise is Ready to Move on From Mission: Impossible

Beyond the textual arc of theMission: Impossibleseries, Tom Cruise’s recent career developments, including signing adeal with Warner Bros.and his return toauteur-driven fare withAlejandro G. Iñárritu, suggest that he’s ready to leave behind the franchise hetransformed from a television seriesto a cinematic phenomenon. Cruise, often heard staunchly advocating for the cinematic experience and supporting other big-ticketmovies likeSinners, has become an ambassador for film as a cultural touchstone in America, andhis role as the face of movies has outgrown the capabilities ofM:I.The exciting possibilities for Cruise heading into his mid-60s are endless. Maybe he’ll return toOscar-worthy dramaslikeEyes Wide ShutandMagnoliathat challenge his stardom, or perhaps he’ll unite with the other champion of cinema,Christopher Nolan, to create the grandest movie of our lifetime.

In hindsight, we probably shouldn’t be so callous to wish for Ethan Hunt to die inThe Final Reckoning, considering how miraculous it is that Cruise has made it through seven movies without suffering from a fatal stunt gone wrong. People have often glibly remarked that the series could only reasonably end if Cruise died doing what he loved best: performing a jaw-dropping, reckless stunt for our amusement on the screen. Of course, we all hope for the best for Cruise’s safety, but the swan song to theMission: Impossiblefranchise practically calls for Ethan Hunt’s fatal blow. InFalloutandDead Reckoning, the last two entries,Ethan haspushed himself to the absolute limit, flying helicopters, preventing the detonation of a bomb on a mountain peak, riding a motorcycle off a mountain ledge, and hanging off a locomotive.At some point, Ethan will have to show that he is just a human and not Superman.

‘Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning’ Needs a Tragic But Epic Conclusion to Ethan Hunt’s Story

Under the direction of franchise stapleChristopher McQuarrie, theM:Imovies have felt epic, not just in the scope of their action, but in their mythological treatment of their protagonist, best exemplified by Alan Hunley’s (Alec Baldwin) speech inRogue Nation, wherehe referred to Ethan as the “living manifestation of destiny.“His friends and colleagues, Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg), and Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), talk about him with the reverence of a God, one who is borderline insane, due to his impulsive decision topartake in the most death-defying tasks, but carries the spirit of Earth’s watchful guardian. WithDead Reckoning’s MacGuffin, the key to The Entity, being shaped like a cross,the series has fully leaned into the allusions to Christ.Perhaps Ethan is the modern-day messiah after all, and the only way this arc would be complete is if he sacrificed himself for the betterment of the world and humanity.

Killing off major characters is often a lazy device to raise the stakes and intensity of a story, but Ethan Hunt’s hypothetical death would be wholly justified. As a Christ-like super-spy, Ethan won’t die for our sins, but rather, to protect his friends. Although theFast and the Furiousseries gets credit for being about “family,” solidarity with loved ones is thecore behindM:I.Ever since his crew was betrayed in the original 1996 film, Ethan swore off ever losing anyone he knew ever again. He can’t fathom witnessing one of his friends perish, even if it means compromising a mission.To best humanize the mythical Ethan and identify the heart of his character dynamic, dying to save his friends would make him feel complete.Due to the high-octane spectacle of the franchise, Ethan is now renowned for being a deeply complex and rich character, but he could demonstrate his tragic but epic fate through his actions.