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Tom Cruise has made a career out of defying death, gravity, and logic itself. Whether he’s clinging to the side of a plane, performing a Halo jump, or riding a motorcycle off a cliff, he continuously raises the bar for action stunts. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning promises even more jaw-dropping sequences, with Cruise reportedly performing his most dangerous stunts yet.

A still of Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Beyond the spectacle, the franchise has built a reputation for delivering intense espionage thrills, intricate plots, and, of course, Cruise running at full speed. Audiences have come to expect a certain level of cinematic insanity, and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning aims to deliver just that. But can another round of death-defying feats keep the Mission: Impossible momentum going?

Hollywood math is a mission more impossible than any stunt A...

Billed as Tom Cruise’s film in the franchise, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, is said to be nearing the $400m mark.

Back in October we covered a story which stated that the ongoing complications of filming the eighth Mission: Impossible film meant that its budget had reached the $300m mark, with no signs of the spending slowing down.

The production has had to deal with a freakish amount of turbulence that includes (takes a deep breath) a global pandemic, months of shutdown due to Hollywood strikes and a faulty crane which suspended production yet again because they couldn’t move their $25m submarine around.

Almost six months on from that report, Puck is now claiming that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning's budget has hit the $400m mark, making it one of the most expensive productions of all time.

As it stands, JJ Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens...

The film business has always been a gamble, and it is not easy for every project or movie to turn out to be a success. A high-stakes game where the odds are always greater, each year, hundreds of millions of dollars, hard work, effort, and time are spent on making blockbuster films, hoping for record-breaking box office returns. However, as history stands as a testament, not every big-budget spectacle turns out to be a major hit, and more often than not, they end up underperforming.

Hollywood has no shortage of big-budget spectacle | Credit: Oppenheimer / Universal Pictures

Even though the said big-budget films might have major filmmakers, screenwriters, or A-list actors attached to them, they sometimes end up flopping disastrously. And it is a feat that fans, critics, and Hollywood witness each and every year. Well, the box office in 2025 isn’t going to be any different, for sure.

While we...

Cary Elwes has joined the cast of new Peacock thriller series M.I.A. Elwes will be appearing in the upcoming show alongside stars from Narcos and Fear the Walking Dead as series regulars.

According to Deadline, Ozark co-creator Bill Dubuque's series has added Maurice Compte (Narcos and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) and Danay Garcia (Fear of the Walking Dead and Prison Break), along with Saw star Elwes, to its expanding cast. The streamer has yet to reveal the character names of its three newest cast members.

Cary Elwes Joins New Peacock Drama Series M.I.A.

Previously, Peacock cast Shannon Gisela (Her Study of a Killer) and Brittany Adebumola (The Other Black Girl) in leading roles as Etta Tiger Jonz and Lovely, respectively, while Dylan Jackson will be playing Stanley.

M.I.A. – which stands for the airport code for Miami International Airport – revolves around Etta Tiger Jonz's drug-running family,...

Apple Original Films and Warner Bros. Pictures have finally launched the full-length official trailer for Joseph Kosinski's F1, the upcoming summer action blockbuster starring 2x Academy Award-winner Brad Pitt (Fight Club; Bullet Train; Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood) as Sonny Hayes, "the greatest that never was."

Speaking with reporters at the trailer launch, the Top Gun: Maverick director teased what we can expect from his next high octane thriller, "Watching Brad drive around at speeds over 180 miles an hour was really impressive to see because it's not something you can just learn overnight. The dedication and the focus that Brad put into this process has been amazing to witness. This film has got it all: Brad Pitt, speed, thrills, an epic underdog story, drama, humor, and a little bit of romance."

As per the synopsis, the film follows Hayes, "Formula 1's most promising phenom of the 1990s...

Ah, the joys of uncovering your roots—it’s like cracking open a family-sized tin of treasure. Tom Cruise, the Hollywood heartthrob, had one of those moments in Dublin that would make any genealogist break into a celebratory gig.

Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning – Part One | Credit: Paramount Pictures

Here’s the thing: most of us can trace our roots a few generations back, but for Tom Cruise, his family history took a major turn when he uncovered that his Irish ancestry stretches all the way back to the 12th century. Now, that’s what you call a mic-drop moment. And while his Irish accent in Far and Away was a bit of a head-scratcher, this discovery of his roots was the kind of ‘Hollywood twist’ even the Top Gun star couldn’t have scripted better.

Tom Cruise’s epic ancestry: From medieval knights to heroic rebels

Tom...

2025 is shaping up to be a year of emotional goodbyes with major character deaths. This year the stakes are higher than ever for some iconic characters. As major film franchises prepare to conclude their stories, several beloved movie characters are expected to meet their untimely end.

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt character will likely die in the next installment. Credit: Paramount Pictures and Skydance.

Social media is buzzing with predictions about the impending deaths of major movie characters in 2025. Whether it’s a heroic sacrifice, a tragic demise, or a bittersweet farewell the beloved character’s death will surely leave a void among fans. From Pandora’s Jungle to the streets of London, here are the characters who are most likely to die in 2025.

1. Ethan Hunt in Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning Tom Cruise in Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | image: Paramount Pictures

Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise‘s iconic spy character,...

Tom Cruise is one of the most influential actors in recent times. Obviously, his Mission: Impossible movies are a big reason behind his fame. Since the first movie released in 1996, Ethan Hunt’s spy saga has become one of the longest running franchises in Hollywood.

Tom Cruise in Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning | Credits: Paramount Pictures

In fact, Mission: Impossible 8 is queued for release in May this year. Incidentally, it is also one of the most successful franchises and Cruise’s hard work in the films shines through the screens.

He has broken many records with the movies, be it the crazy stunts that can turn fatalistic with the slightest misstep, or in the box office. However, there might be more to the franchise’s success story than that, and an old interview with Mission: Impossible 3’s co-producer gives an insight into that.

Tom Cruise...

“Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue” is a thrilling television series created by Anthony Horowitz that premiered on March 2, 2025, on MGM+. The narrative centers on nine strangers who survive a plane crash in the Mexican jungle, only to face a new peril as they begin to die under mysterious circumstances. The survivors must uncover the identity of the killer among them before it’s too late.

Release Schedule:

The six-episode series follows a weekly release pattern, with new episodes available every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. Est on MGM+.

Episode 1: “Dead Reckoning” – Sunday, March 2, 2025 Episode 2: “Black Angel” – Sunday, March 9, 2025 Episode 3: “Rapido” – Sunday, March 16, 2025 Episode 4: “The Short Straw” – Sunday, March 23, 2025 Episode 5: “Cloud Cover” – Sunday, March 30, 2025 Episode 6: “Body Bags” – Sunday, April 6, 2025 Nine Bodies in A Mexican Morgue Main Cast & Characters:

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Eric McCormack as...

Whether he's trying to avoid an explosion, save the love of his life, or make it to school on time, the one thing you can always expect from most Tom Cruise movies is a running scene. It's one of Cruise's trademarks that's arguably just as important as the death-defying stunts he pulls off for our pleasure. The truth is that when he starts moving like the bus from "Speed," the energy of the film does too. The man's got places to be, and he's gotta get there looking awesome.

It's no secret that Cruise is a movie star and loves playing into the notoriety of enveloping the screen with his magnetism -- even with dreck like "The Mummy." To this day, it still baffles me how Cruise feels so lost in the failed startup to the monster mash cinematic universe. But at least there's a running scene. Rather than Cruise sprinting by his lonesome,...

If there’s one thing that Dead Reckoning proves, it’s that some guys can’t stay out of trouble no matter how hard they try. In the 1947 film, Humphrey Bogart plays Rip Murdock, a tough ex-paratrooper who goes searching for his missing war buddy. However, he finds a lot more than he bargained for, ranging from a mess of lies to one very dangerous woman. Overall, it’s classic film noir at its best, packed with shady characters and the kind of mystery that only gets messier as the narrative progresses. It’s safe to say that Bogart was born for roles like this, perfectly interpreting the plight of men who are too smart to be fooled but too stubborn to walk away.

It has only been a few weeks since Amazon announced it had acquired full creative control of the James Bond franchise, but the rumor mill has been running nonstop ever since. The internet has been alight with speculation about which actor will take over for Daniel Craig as 007. While Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is fielding suggestions for the next Bond, though, the franchise’s future star is not the only role that needs to be filled for it to officially move forward.

Amazon also has to choose a director to helm its next Bond movie. The franchise’s previous directors include Sam Mendes, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Martin Campbell, Terence Young and Lewis Gilbert. Here are five filmmakers who could potentially join that list, and sooner rather than later.

Christopher Nolan speaks onstage during the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards at The Beverly Hilton on February 08, 2025. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images...

Stranded in the jungle, the real danger isn’t the wilderness – it’s each other.

Nine bodies. Ten passports. One crashed plane. That’s the setup of “Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue,” the new MGM+ mystery thriller premiering Sunday, March 2, at 9 a.m. Et. I love a good murder mystery - whether it’s the playful twists of “Only Murders in the Building” or the dark, brooding intensity of “True Detective,” I can’t get enough. That’s why this one has me pumped. The series kicks off with a light aircraft crash in the Mexican jungle - miraculously, almost all the passengers survive. But as they fight the heat, the wild, and each other, they start dying in violent and mysterious ways. Don’t miss a moment of the mystery with a subscription to MGM+ through Prime Video.

How to watch ‘Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue’ When: Sunday,...

MGM+ has announced the titles coming to the premium linear channel and streaming service in March. The MGM Plus Mach 2025 lineup includes the new series Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue and the films The Fire Inside and September 5.

MGM+, an Amazon company, is a premium linear channel and streaming service delivering a broad lineup of exclusive original series and docuseries, the latest movie releases, and classic film franchises—all available in the U.S. on TV, on-demand, online, and across devices.

MGM Plus March 2025 Schedule

Series

Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue

The series premieres on March 2 and new episodes follow every Sunday

Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is a strikingly original and taut thriller series with a jaw-dropping reveal waiting at the end. A light aircraft with nine passengers crashes in the Mexican jungle and everyone survives.

But then, one after another, they begin to...

The following contains spoilers for Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue Season 1, Episode 1, "Dead Reckoning," which debuts Sunday, Mar. 2 on MGM+ .

Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue is a murder-mystery pure and simple. Created by best-selling author Anthony Horowitz for MGM+, it reverse engineers a crime fiction cliché by having the victims turn detective. Coming on like Lost in a South American rainforest, this opening episode starts by laying down some foundations. It gives nothing away to say that Nine Bodies plays a mean game of poker with the audience during that first hour. Conversations between the Mexican military manning this morgue are rife with unanswered questions. There are no body bags yet, and the idea of autopsies is a pipedream for another episode.

With an ensemble cast including Eric McCormack and David Ajala from Star Trek: Discovery, there is not a lot to work with, even after an hour.

Leonardo DiCaprio has played many famous individuals over the years. Be it iconic figures in literature like Romeo and Jay Gatsby, or playing real-life people like The Wolf of Wall Street and J. Edgar Hoover, he knows how to capture the essence of a beloved personality.

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby | Credit: Warner Bros.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that he has done adaptations and movies based on real-life countless times in his career. Most recently, DiCaprio could be going down another path with his career, off the Snake River Canyon on a motorcycle. Only there is one other person who would be perfectly suited for the role.

Leonardo DiCaprio could be moving towards his next Oscar

A good actor and a good director can accomplish the world together. Regardless of other elements out of their control, when a director has a vision and an actor can bring it to life,...

Ethan Hunt's final quest to save the world could begin in France. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is considering a major theatrical debut at the world-renowned film festival, Cannes. After a disappointing box office run by its predecessor, Dead Reckoning, the studio is looking into boosting the momentum for the upcoming sequel before it bows out in theaters in late May this year. It's a jam-packed movie summer, so it seems The Final Reckoning may make its theatrical debut earlier than its official release date.

According to Variety, Paramount is considering premiering the eighth (and possibly final) Mission: Impossible film during the Cannes Film Festival. The event, being held in the back half of May, could serve as the film's official worldwide premiere date if the studio and, presumably, Tom Cruise, decide to go in that direction. If the upcoming sequel is actually the final installment for all parties,...

Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise have made it their mission to deliver the best thrill rides in cinema with the Mission: Impossible franchise. However, 2023’s Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning proved to be a disappointment in many ways despite delivering what any other franchise would consider a reasonable box office result. As the pair prepare to bring Mission: Impossible: The Final Reckoning to cinemas this summer, the filmmaker has addressed the lackluster response to its predecessor – something which led to a complete overhaul of the new movie.

Dead Reckoning was released after a long production that was hindered by many issues, including the fallout of the Covid pandemic, which saw its budget soar to over $300 million, making it unlikely to pull in a huge profit. Thrown up against several other blockbuster movies, the action thriller was able to hold its own well enough to not be a complete flop, but...

The director of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Christopher McQuarrie, has opened up about the film’s underwhelming box office results. Despite strong reviews from critics, the seventh installment in the popular action franchise did not perform as well as expected.

Released in the summer of 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning saw Tom Cruise return as Ethan Hunt, facing off against a powerful AI called the Entity and its human ally, Gabriel (played by Esai Morales). Although the movie received praise for its intense action and gripping story, it struggled financially.

With an estimated budget of $291 million—partly inflated due to Covid-related costs—the film managed to earn $571 million worldwide. While this may seem like a big number, it fell short of expectations, especially given the franchise’s history of success.

In a recent interview with Empire, McQuarrie did not shy away from the film’s mixed audience reception. He...

Tom Cruise always puts his life on the line for Mission: Impossible stunts, regardless of how much internal pain he's hiding when the camera rolls.

Speaking with Empire, Cruise reflected on the production and life-and-death stakes behind Mission: Impossible 2's opening scene, which saw Ethan Hunt climb up a mountain with no harness or gear to receive his latest mission. Filming the scene, however, was delayed several times by 40 days of heavy rain and intense wind, though Cruise remained adamant that John Woo's film re-introduce Hunt to audiences with such a stunt.

Related'i Had a Short Fuse': Stephen Amell Reflects on the Struggles of Shooting Arrow

Stephen Amell opens up about the challenges of shooting Arrow, comparing the experience to being "shot out of a cannon."

"I have pushed the studio for the opening of this movie, and you can't even get there to set up the camera.

When it comes to pushing the boundaries of cinematic spectacle, Tom Cruise is in 20,000 leagues of his own. Whether he’s free-falling from 25,000 feet, scaling the world’s tallest buildings, or clinging to the side of an aircraft mid-takeoff, Cruise has built a reputation for outdoing himself with every Mission: Impossible installment. And just when you thought Dead Reckoning had him at his limit, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is proving that the actor is still willing to go bigger, bolder, and, in this case, deeper.

For decades now, Tom Cruise has been taking audiences to giddy heights in his pursuit of blockbuster excellence – often literally. And while later Mission: Impossible films saw him scale the Burf Khalifa, cling to planes mid-flight, and Halo jump through the night sky, his love affair with dangerous dangling goes all the way back to the John Woo-helmed Mission: Impossible 2. The 2000 sequel begins with Cruise’s Ethan Hunt hanging loose in a dizzying Utah free-climb, a jaw-dropping stunt that quickly became the film’s most iconic scene.

In the new issue of Empire, Cruise talks us through an iconic moment from every Mission movie so far, packed with stories on his greatest feats – from the Langley dangle in the Brian de Palma original, to the Rogue Nation aircraft hanger, to the Fiat 500 chase in Dead Reckoning. Here’s an exclusive extract, with Cruise looking back on that legendary Mission: Impossible 2 opener.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning sees Tom Cruise push himself to the limits like never before as his central protagonist, Ethan Hunt, pulls out all the stops to save humanity. However, the legendary actor admits he nearly went too far thanks to an intense underwater scene in the upcoming action blockbuster.

Speaking with Empire, Cruise revealed he risked suffocation while filming the underwater sequence in the upcoming Mission: Impossible sequel. Shot in an 8.5 million liter water tank, the scene sees Cruise's character trapped in the Sevastopol submarine's wreckage. Wearing special equipment that could only be worn for 10-minute intervals due to oxygen issues, Cruise pushed the limits of those intervals, with the actor risking hypoxia due to the stunt. “I’m breathing in my own carbon dioxide,” Cruise said. “It builds up in the body and affects the muscles.” Despite these physical limitations, the actor emphasizes the importance of...

Super Bowl trailers have long been a staple of the big game, offering studios a chance to showcase their biggest upcoming blockbusters to a massive audience. These previews are often packed with high-energy footage, teasing long-awaited sequels, major franchise installments, new movies and even the occasional unexpected surprise.

Super Bowl Lix saw the Eagles complete their revenge tour by dominating the Chiefs, and many movie fans were treated to the usual cavalcade of upcoming sneak previews and trailers. Although there wasn't anything shocking or surprising to come between downs, the trailers kept coming and viewers began to get excited about what was to come down the line. From major action epics audiences have been dying to see for years to films moviegoers aren't fully convinced by yet, there was a lot to offer in terms of this year's Super Bowl spots.

Jack Quaid Can’t Feel Pain Novocaine (2025)

On March 14th,...

For a long time, we’ve suspected that Tom Cruise is – as they say – ‘built different’. The man can simply do things that the rest of us can’t, a talent he uses to astonishing blockbuster effect. Whether that’s clinging to a biplane in mid-air, or biking off cliffs into a parachute drop, or climbing the world’s tallest buildings, Cruise can do it all. But for Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning he pushed himself even further. While the film’s aforementioned biplane sequence has him flying high, another set piece in Christopher McQuarrie’s Dead Reckoning sequel takes him deep down – into the wreckage of the Sevastopol submarine, as seen in the previous movie. Once he’s inside, everything goes to hell.

The result is a breathless water-churning subaquatic sequence that has Ethan Hunt caught in the undertow – shot in an 8.5 million litre water tank on a gimbal that can rotate on command.

Paramount Pictures has released the "Big Game" TV spot Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and, after celebrating the franchise's past, we see more of what appears to be Tom Cruise's last mission as the iconic Ethan Hunt.

If so, the actor will go out on a high, especially if the stunts teased here are any indication of what to expect from the movie. We also see the returning characters who will be at Hunt's side, with Pom Klementieff's fan-favourite assassin, Paris, among them.

Despite reports that, like its predecessor, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning's budget has spiralled out of control, all signs point to it being money well spent.

Whether it will be a bigger draw than 2023's Dead Reckoning - Part One ("Part Two" was dropped from this movie's title before it was renamed The Final Reckoning) remains to be seen.

During a recent interview,...

It’s been a turbulent flight getting here, but we’ve finally got the trailer for “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” (fka “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two” and colloquially known as “Mission: Impossible 8”). Thank goodness Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) can still sprint.

In “M:i 8,” Hunt needs his team to trust him “one last time.“

In the trailer, which is shown in ultra wide format, we see Hunt — as one has come to expect — running very fast. It also features footage of the sunken submarine that kicks off the events of “Mission Impossible — Dead Reckoning,” as well as a callback to the first film that even many who haven’t seen it are more than likely familiar with. As previously teased, the big stunt for this entry will involve Cruise hanging outside of a functioning 1930s biplane, shots of which are also seen in the teaser.

The...

Paramount Pictures has released the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Super Bowl spot. The eighth installment opens in theaters, Dolby Cinema, 4Dx, ScreenX, premium large formats, and IMAX on May 23, 2025.

The film is officially described as follows: “Our lives are the sum of our choices. Tom Cruise is Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” All the previous Mission: Impossible movies are currently streaming on Paramount+.

Directed again by Christopher McQuarrie, the new movie stars Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Mariela Garriga, and Henry Czerny.

Holt McCallany, Janet McTeer, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Angela Bassett, Shea Whigham, Greg Tarzan Davis, Charles Parnell, and Frederick Schmidt round out the cast.

Based on the television series created by Bruce Geller, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is produced by Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie. McQuarrie wrote the script with Erik Jendresen.

“I need you to trust me — one last time.”

That’s Tom Cruise begging his fellow Imf teammates to go on one more death-defying expedition to save the world in a new action-packed Super Bowl trailer for “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.” Paramount Pictures will release the film, which is being billed as Cruise’s final outing as super-spy Ethan Hunt, in theaters on May 23.

The spot doesn’t stint on the crazy stunts that have become the franchise’s signature. At one point, Cruise dangles upside down from a plane, clinging on for dear life. Cruise is no slouch when it comes to risking it all on screen, having previously scaled the side of the Burj Khalifa and piloted a motorcycle off a cliff. But even he seemed to think his latest stunt pushed the limits.

“When you stick your face out [of an airplane], going over 120 to 130 miles an hour,...

Big games call for big movies, and there aren't many bigger in 2025 than Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which will see Tom Cruise star as the daredevil Imf agent Ethan Hunt, purportedly for the final time. We've just been treated to another action packed tease of the film, which will hit multiplexes on May 23, 2025 — and unlike the previous outing, Dead Reckoning, this one is getting an exclusive run in IMAX theaters to prevent the previous problems from arising.

Tom Cruise has lit the fuse at the Super Bowl with a new look at Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

The feature is the eighth (and possibly final?) installment for Cruise in the long-running franchise, which dates back to 1996’s Mission: Impossible and which has become known for an increasingly ambitious series of stunts.

For almost a decade, the signature stunt of a Mission movie has been teased for upwards of a year in advance, such as Cruise hanging off the side of a plane for Rogue Nation, performing a Halo skydive for Fallout or jumping a motorbike off a cliff for Dead Reckoning. This time, the stunt has been kept under wraps until much closer to the release of the film, with Cruise revealing on Feb. 7 that one stunt involved him hanging off of an upside down propeller plane.

Christopher McQuarrie, Cruise’s right-hand man since 2015’s Rogue Nation,...

"Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning" was a bit of a disappointment. As Chris Evangelista put it in his /Film review, the film felt like it was "cobbled together in between big set pieces." Its biggest sin (other than killing off a certain fan-favorite character) was making the story come across as barely stitched together between set pieces, which is never a good sign.

Now, whether it is the actual final film in the franchise or not, "Mission: Impossible -- The Final Reckoning" is at the very least a movie with higher stakes than any "Mission: Impossible" movie before it. In case you need a reminder, "Dead Reckoning" ended on a big cliffhanger. The human villain Gabriel (Esai Morales) got away, leaving Ethan Hunt and his team scrambling and on a race against the clock to find a sunken submarine and use a mysterious and convoluted key to stop the evil A.

There was a teaser for “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” at the big game in 2018. And in the lead-up to Sunday’s Super Bowl Lix game, there were several sizzles and behind-the-scenes clips from the upcoming “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.”

All of that led to the big game spot, which you can watch below:

Christopher McQuarrie, who has directed every “Mission” movie since “Rogue Nation,” is back in the director’s chair this time around for a sequel that went through a bit of an evolution.

Initially, “Mission: Impossible 7” and “Mission: Impossible 8” were shot back-to-back and titled “Dead Reckoning – Part One” and “Dead Reckoning – Part Two.” But after the disappointing box office performance of the seventh film, it was retitled for home release to just “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” and “M:i 8” got a new title. Thus, “The Final Reckoning” was born.

Cruise is, of course, back...

The devil works hard, but Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie work harder. We are months away from Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, aka the highly anticipated MI8, which will serve as the concluding chapter to 2023’s Dead Reckoning (and probably the whole saga). As the release date nears, fans are getting glimpses of what the actor and director have in store and daredevil stunts are on top of that list. In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Cruise and McQuarrie shared details of a mysterious stunt that left the actor breathless and will top anything we’ve seen on the big screen before.

There’s an air of finality circling Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. And not just because the eighth film in the Imf franchise is set to conclude the events that began in 2023’s Dead Reckoning. For one, it has the word ‘final’ in the title; the official synopsis simply (and ominously) reads, “Our lives are the sum of our choices”; plus, the trailer features Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt asking someone to trust him “one last time”. Could it really be time to say goodbye to cinema’s other greatest secret agent?

Rumour is rife, then, that The Final Reckoning will in fact be the final Mission: Impossible – but for now, Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie are playing their cards close to their chests. “You gotta see the movie,” laughs Cruise, when Empire tries to get an answer out of him. “It’s a hard thing for me to discuss at the moment,...

There is nothing Tom Cruise won’t do for your big-screen entertainment. Over the last decade-plus, he’s cemented his reputation as the most daring man in Hollywood, not just a proper movie star, but a stunt powerhouse, a walking special effect. He’s biked off cliffs, flown fighter jets, climbed the Burj Khalifa, dangled from helicopters, base-jumped on loop, all in the name of our entertainment. And by the sounds of things, we ain’t seen nothing yet. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is mere months away, the concluding chapter to 2023’s Dead Reckoning that we’re assured will see Cruise and regular director Christopher McQuarrie go to even dizzier heights of daredevilry.

Take, for instance, the scene – as seen on Empire’s world-exclusive The Final Reckoning cover – in which Cruise clings to the wing of a 1930s Boeing Stearman biplane, careening through the air at 10,000 feet. The sequence was shot in South Africa,...

Action films are one of the biggest box office draws today. Every year, more and more action flicks are released in theaters, and viewers can't get enough. And an integral part of an action film's historical success is it's ending.

Endings can make or break a movie, especially when it comes to the action genre. Either because of how incredibly it closes out the film, or because of what it means for the genre, the ending needs to be perfect.

It’s Never “Hasta la Vista” With the Terminator Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day, written and directed by the great James Cameron, is considered to be one of the greatest action films of all time. For the classic ending, after an intense battle against the indestructible T-1000, played by Robert Patrick, Sarah Connor finally puts an end to the machine, as well as the possibility of Skynet's future world-ending rise.

It takes years to release a movie, from development to script writing, to production, to post-production, all the way to marketing and distribution. With so many steps in the process, there are bound to be some hiccups along the way. A good portion of filmmaking is simply decision-making. Directors and producers are put in a position where they need to be quick, definitive, and right, and part of being a good leader is knowing when to delegate. The more a director delegates, the larger the crew is, and the higher chance there is for crazy behind-the-scenes stories to come out. There are, of course, famous leaked stories about incredible stunts and set pieces, like in The Dark Knight, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, or Death Proof, and harrowing behind-the-scenes incidents like The Crow, Rust, and Deadpool 2, but even low-budget indie movies have their fair share of behind-the-scenes drama. Some of...

It cannot be denied: The Super Bowl generally translates into big box office.

However, there are only three motion picture studios — Disney, Paramount and Universal — willing to pony up $7.5 million-$8 million for a 30-second spot on Fox before an audience that last year reached 123.7 million viewers across live linear and streaming.

For those in the dark, Super Bowl Lix on February is a rematch of the 2023 face-off between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the latter eyeing an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title.

Say what you will about linear being dead, but when it comes to live sports programming, it’s still a prime means of reaching a moviegoing audience. Big tentpole movies like Deadpool & Wolverine ($211.4M opening) and Wicked ($112.5M) launched during last year’s Super Bowl.

This year, count on the following to air either pre, during or post-game:

(L-r) Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn,...

Next month brings bad news for action, Tom Cruise, and Mission: Impossible fans, courtesy of Netflix. Beginning back in 1996, the Mission: Impossible is now on its eighth installment and has since become one of the most popular action movie franchises of all time. Thanks in large part to Tom Cruise and his dedication to putting his own life on the line at any given opportunity for the sake of our cinematic entertainment.

But, while Mission: Impossible 8, Aka Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is due to hit theaters later this year, audiences don’t have long to catch up with the beginnings of the franchise, as Mission: Impossible, Mission: Impossible II, and Mission: Impossible III are all set to leave Netflix in February. All three movies, which introduce audiences to Tom Cruise as Imf agent Ethan Hunt in a reboot of the 1966 TV series created by Bruce Geller, will...

Anyone planning to watch “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” may want to have a health checkup beforehand.

According to director Christopher McQuarrie, the final instalment of the Tom Cruise’s hit spy franchise — films that have become known for upping the crazy with each title when it comes to stunts — has a sequence that gave at least one early audience member more than just a shock.

“We had a small screening, and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack,'” he told Empire magazine in an interview, according GamesRadar. “And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.”

While the sequence in question wasn’t revealed, the trailer for the “Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning” sees Cruise scuba dive and explore a wrecked submarine, fly and fall out of a biplane and, naturally, do a lot of running.

In “Dead Reckoning,” the...

Christopher McQuarrie, director of Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, is teasing the Tom Cruise movie, and audiences are seemingly in for a thrilling film.

In what is reportedly the final film of the franchise starring Cruise, McQuarrie said that an audience member at an early screening had quite the reaction.

“We had a small screening, and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack.’ And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right,” McQuarrie told Empire, according to GamesRadar.

McQuarrie didn’t reveal what action sequence made the audience member feel that way, but the trailer for the film had Cruise’s Ethan Hunt fighting off enemies underwater, off of planes, and many more jaw-dropping scenes.

The filmmaker returned to direct the latest Mission: Impossible installment, which he has been a part of since 2015’s Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation. McQuarrie also...

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie recently shared an audience member's reaction during a screening of the eagerly anticipated film. Given the franchise's reputation for one-upping itself in delivering intense, edge-of-your-seat action sequences, as teased in Mission: Impossible 8's first trailer, it is no surprise that the viewer "almost had a heart attack."

McQuarrie talked about the Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning screening in an interview with Empire via GamesRadar, revealing that the reaction left him feeling they had accomplished what they set out to achieve with the Tom Cruise-led spy thriller. "We had a small screening, and someone said, 'I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack.' And I thought, 'I guess we did something right,'" he said. McQuarrie, however, did not reveal the scene he was referencing. The upcoming film, originally titled Mission: Impossible — Dead...

If there is one thing guaranteed for anyone watching a Mission: Impossible movie, it is that Tom Cruise is going to do his absolute best to take your breath away and increase your heart rate. According to long-term franchise director Christopher McQuarrie, this year’s Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has potentially gone a little too far with its intense action sequences…but that is exactly what the director wanted to hear.

The movie is not arriving in cinemas until May 23, but according to McQuarrie, a small test screening resulted in one viewer saying the movie almost “gave them a heart attack,” something that he is immensely happy about. Speaking to Empire Magazine, McQuarrie explained:

“We had a small screening and someone said, ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heart attack.’ And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.’”

Fans of the franchise...

We are all very used to seeing Tom Cruise go to extreme lengths to almost die frequently for our entertainment, and the upcoming Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning looks set to raise the bar even further. Serving as a sequel to Dead Reckoning, the eighth installment of the blockbuster franchise will see Cruise return as super-spy Ethan Hunt, facing off against Esai Morales' Gabriel and the menacing artificial intelligence known as The Entity. But according to director Christopher McQuarrie, one of the film's stunts may have gone ever so slightly above and beyond even their usual standard of death defying stunts — almost too much so...

The fate of Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt has been a major question going into Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, but the franchise may already have confirmed what will happen to the character. Since the ending of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, questions have been raised about the next installment in the long-running series. At first, the eighth installment was set to be subtitled Dead Reckoning Part 2 before updates about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning confirmed the new title.

Regardless of the title change, theories about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning have been commonplace. The most common theories surround the many characters of Mission: Impossible 8's cast, with audiences questioning who will make it out of the film alive. From the fate of Simon Pegg's Benji Dunn to the potential death of Ving Rhames' Luther Stickell, it is unclear which of the franchise's beloved heroes will survive.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning could be the last hurrah for Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in the highly successful action franchise. Though the attention is mainly on Cruise and his central protagonist, the upcoming tentpole's director insists the sequel will feature the "best moments" of another character.

Speaking with Empire, McQuarrie declared that fans should expect big things from Simon Pegg's longtime Mission: Impossible character, Benji Dunn, in The Final Reckoning. According to McQuarrie, Benji, first introduced in 2006's Mission: Impossible III, will be the "standout" in The Final Reckoning. "I don't think I'm exaggerating to say it contains Simon's best moments in the franchise," he said.

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Benji has been Ethan's close friend throughout his Mission: Impossible run,...

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie teases that one fan-favorite character is set to get their best scenes in the franchise in the upcoming installment. Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the eighth and potentially final Mission: Impossible movie, which will see the superspy and his team attempting to defeat Gabriel (Esai Morales) and The Entity. Joining Cruise in The Final Reckoning cast is Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Greg Tarzan Davis, as well as franchise veterans Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg.

In a recent interview with Empire, McQuarrie offers up some teases about Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning's supporting characters. "There's no way I would have cast Pom in Dead Reckoning if that was the be all and end all of that character," he says of Klementieff's enemy-turned-ally Paris. But it's Pegg's Benji Dunn, first introduced in 2006's Mission: Impossible III, who is set to...

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie shares the intense reaction one viewer had to a Tom Cruise stunt during an early screening for the film. Serving as a sequel to 2023's Dead Reckoning, the upcoming eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise features Cruise returning as superspy Ethan Hunt to finish his fight against Gabriel (Esai Morales) and The Entity. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning's trailer has already teased that the film will feature a handful of thrilling Cruise stunts, including underwater action and an aerial plane sequence.

During a recent interview with Empire (via GamesRadar+), McQuarrie reveals that one of Cruise's stunts prompted an enthusiastic reaction during a Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning screening. According to the director, the upcoming movie features "the most difficult thing" they've ever done in the franchise, and it had one viewer overwhelmed with some pretty intense feelings while watching it.

Hayley Atwell is a fan favorite in the Marvel universe as the fierce and fabulous Peggy Carter, holding her own against Captain America. But the Hollywood star is more than just a superhero — she’s a savvy businesswoman off-screen too. With a career spanning two decades, she’s built a diverse portfolio that’s set to make her net worth soar by 2025.

Hayley Atwell in Heartstopper (Credits: Netflix)

Atwell’s journey is nothing short of inspiring. From her early roles in historical dramas to becoming a major player in the MCU, she’s truly made her mark. Not just an actress, she’s dabbled in TV, voice acting, radio, and podcasting too. The 42-year-old has carved out a diverse career that’s only getting better.

Curious about how this multi-talented diva developed her empire? Let’s look at Hayley Atwell’s progression to prominence, her substantial franchise revenues, and the...