In the summer of 2025, audiences' mission, should they choose to accept it, will be to venture forth to movie theaters all across the globe and turn Mission: Impossible 8 into a more considerable success than its predecessor, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning. The formerly titled Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part 2 has been distancing itself from its former identity, leading longtime franchise fans to question the film's long-gestating production cycle.

It's been five years since Paramount Pictures first announced their intention to shoot Missions: Impossible 7 and 8 back-to-back, and audiences still don't know much about the upcoming eighth entry. Will it carry forward as a direct continuation of Dead Reckoning's events? Which stars are returning, and who's coming in as a fresh face? And, of course, most importantly of all, how will Tom Cruise top the spectacular stunts from the last three entries?

What Happened in Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning?

Hunt's Team Prevented Catastrophe, But Not Without a Cost

First, here's a refresher on what happened in Dead Reckoning. What was initially envisioned as Part One of the story saw Ethan Hunt and his loyal team of IMF agents chasing down an adversary from Ethan's past named Gabriel, who's working with a rogue A.I. dubbed "The Entity." The vast majority of Dead Reckoning involves a race against time. Ethan and his team must locate a unique cruciform key to activate "The Entity" before Gabriel can get his hands on it first.

Because it was designed to serve as one of half of a story, Dead Reckoning ends on a semi-cliffhanger in which one of Ethan's team sacrifices their life in a desperate attempt to prevent Gabriel from gaining access to the key. Thanks to a last-ditch effort made by Ethan and his allies, Gabriel is prevented from getting what he wants, and the film ends with Ethan in possession of the key and heading off to locate The Entity to shut it down once and for all.

What Is Mission: Impossible 8 About?

A.I. Might Spell the End for Humanity

Now that Ethan Hunt knows The Entity is aboard a Russian stealth submarine, the hunt (excuse the pun) for the Sevastopol is officially on. Early on in Dead Reckoning, audiences are provided with information that Ethan and his crew are not; namely that The Entity went rouge while aboard the Sevastopol submarine and sunk the vessel to the bottom of the ocean, which means Ethan and his allies are likely going to have to dust off their diving skills if they want to shut this monstrous A.I. down permanently.

Along the way, Ethan and the IMF team will undoubtedly have to contend with The Entity, which will do everything possible to prevent them from locating its physical location. What those obstacles are that Ethan must overcome will rely on the ingenuity of the creative team behind Mission: Impossible 8. Hopefully, the film will also find the time to answer a series of lingering questions from Dead Reckoning, including the exact nature of Ethan's relationship with the woman Gabriel killed, Marie.

Where Will Mission: Impossible 8 Shoot?

All Across the Globe, From the U.K. to South Africa

With Mission: Impossible being a globe-trotting franchise, audiences can expect the eighth entry to continue that trend. Since Mission: Impossible 8 was initially greenlit in 2020 to shoot the film back-to-back with Dead Reckoning, principal photography began in early 2022. That means filming locations have already been reported to include Malta, South Africa, the Arctic region of Norway, Longcross Studios, and the Lake District in the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately, as if being shot during a pandemic wasn't bad enough, Mission: Impossible 8 suffered further production setbacks when the film was paused during the Writer and Actors strikes that delayed so much of Hollywood's output in 2023. Thankfully, production has since resumed, and some of the latest behind-the-scenes footage to emerge on the internet included an emotional-looking reunion between Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt and Simon Pegg's Benji Dunn, which was shot near Trafalgar Square in London.

Who Will Star In Mission: Impossible 8?

Faces Old and New Have Accepted Their Mission

As any longtime fans of Mission: Impossible would hope, many of the franchise's established stars are returning for the upcoming eighth film. Of course, no Mission: Impossible film would feel complete without Tom Cruise in the starring role as IMF's super spy, Ethan Hunt. Ethan wouldn't be nearly as effective as he has proven to be without some of his closest friends and allies supporting him along the way, such as Simon Pegg, who will be returning as Benji, Ving Rhames, who will also reappear as the computer guru Luther, and Hayley Atwell who will no doubt see an even more significant role in the upcoming sequel after being introduced in the previous film as the thief-turned IMF-agent, Grace.

Outside of those three mainstays of the franchise, other returning faces will include Vanessa Kirby as The White Widow, Esai Morales as the new big-bad Gabriel, and Rolf Saxon, who will reprise his role as CIA analyst William Donloe from the first film. He was last seen being sent to Alaska by another returning face, Henry Czerny's Eugene Kittridge, the current director of the CIA. Despite Dead Reckoning ending with the assassin, Paris, being badly wounded, reports suggest that actress Pom Klementieff will also return to the series, this time fighting on Ethan's side.

The fresh faces making their Mission: Impossible debuts are even more exciting than the returning names. This includes fan favorites such as Holt McCallany as the Secretary of Defense, Hannah Waddingham in an undisclosed role, and Emmy Award-winning actor Nick Offerman as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other actors to watch for include Janet McTeer, Katy O'Brian, Tramell Tillman, and Lucy Tulugarjuk. In other words, Mission: Impossible 8 might be the largest ensemble cast the franchise has ever seen.

Who Is Making Mission: Impossible 8?

A Who's Who of the Usual Suspects

Mission: Impossible 8 is being produced by Paramount Studios, and the man behind the camera is the same individual who has shepherded the last three entries in the franchise, director Christopher McQuarrie. Having initially made a name for himself in Hollywood as the screenwriter of such notable films as The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, and Edge of Tomorrow, McQuarrie will share the screenwriting credit for Mission: Impossible 8 with his fellow scribe Erik Jendresen of Band of Brothers fame.

Other returning behind-the-scenes talent includes composer Lorne Balfe, who previously scored Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves; director of photography Fraser Taggart, who shot Dead Reckoning; editor Eddie Hamilton, who recently cut Top Gun: Maverick, and production designer Gary Freeman whose most notable work includes Maleficent. All of which is to say that Mission: Impossible 8 has some of the most talented people in Hollywood working with a combined pedigree that's almost too big to fail.

When Will Mission: Impossible 8 Release?

After a Series of Delays, It's Almost Here

After Paramount Pictures announced that Mission: Impossible 8 would be shot back-to-back with Dead Reckoning, the film's initial release date was intended to be August 5th, 2022. Shortly after that, it was delayed a few months until November 2022. Then, once the world was gripped in the clutches of a pandemic, the film's release date shuffled again, first to July 2023 and then June 2024. As the pandemic ended, the film's production schedule still couldn't catch a break, and the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes pushed the release date one final time to what it is now: May 23rd, 2025.

Early during Mission: Impossible 8's production cycle, it was rumored that this film (along with Dead Reckoning) would culminate the entire franchise and serve as one last final send-off for Ethan Hunt. According to more recent reports, that is no longer the case, and when Tom Cruise caught sight of an 80-year-old Harrison Ford picking up his bullwhip as Indiana Jones, it reportedly inspired Cruise to aspire to do the same. That is to say, no matter what happens in Mission Impossible 8, don't expect Ethan Hunt to refuse to accept any upcoming missions in the future.