Summary

• Tom Cruise's departure from Mission: Impossible would be a huge misstep given the series' success and his dedication to stunts.
• The franchise has thrived on Cruise's daring stunts, as each film gets bigger and more exciting, drawing audiences back for more.
• Cruise's commitment to pushing boundaries and surprising viewers with each new installment sets Mission: Impossible apart.

Although Mission: Impossible 8 is scheduled to be Tom Cruise’s final project in the franchise, his departure would be a huge misstep at this point. The film, which will pick up directly after Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1’s cliffhanger ending, was initially supposed to be the second part of this story, but has since been re-branded as a new film altogether. That being said, the story is sure to continue where the previous one left off, with Cruise’s protagonist Ethan Hunt searching for Sevastopol in order to use the key he stole from Gabriel in the final scene.

Over the past few years, the Mission: Impossible movies have just been getting better. Every film in the series has been a resounding critical success, even if Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 underwhelmed at the box office. This positive reaction would ordinarily be reason enough for the franchise to continue with Cruise in the lead. Aside from this and the unfinished story, however, I believe there is an even more compelling reason why the Mission: Impossible series must continue without replacing Cruise in the lead.

Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible Stunts Keep Getting Bigger With Each Movie

The Actor Isn't Afraid To Reach New Heights

The unique draw of the Mission: Impossible movies is that their stunts, much like the scale of the narratives, keep getting bigger and bigger with each movie. While the original film was a small-scale spy drama that focused mostly on stealth and combat, the latest installments have delivered huge international threats with big-budget vehicle chases and breathtaking action set pieces. This has rocketed Mission: Impossible to a whole new level of success, with the films becoming cinematic events where people turn up every few years to see the new Mission: Impossible stunts.

Of course, the franchise could survive without Tom Cruise in some form, but the actor’s dedication to doing his own stunts and pushing his own boundaries is exactly what makes this aspect of the films so endearing. Knowing that Cruise has been doing this for so long and still wants to go bigger and bolder with the film’s action is a huge selling point of the series. Without this, I find it hard to imagine that audiences would turn up as frequently and reliably to the new releases.

I Never Know What To Expect From Tom Cruise In Mission: Impossible

Every Movie Seems To Sur Expectations

As an actor, Tom Cruise is one of the most ambitious and unpredictable in the business. He clearly loves these movies with a ion, and wants to surprise audiences every time a new one is made. And as the movies get bigger and bigger, his stunts and on-screen antics get less and less predictable. I certainly couldn't have envisioned that Mission: Impossible - Fallout would see Cruise fighting on the side of an airborne helicopter, or that he’d cling to the door of an ascending plane in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

Jeremy Renner almost replaced Cruise after Ghost Protocol before ultimately turning down the offer [...]

It’s this growing sense of danger and instability that makes Mission: Impossible so exciting, and it’s hard to imagine that anybody else would dare to get so risky behind the scenes. There are certainly actors who would give it a good shot - Jeremy Renner almost replaced Cruise after Ghost Protocol before ultimately turning down the offer - but the franchise would suffer without his dedication to stunts and action. The series would likely turn into a more story-focused spy franchise, like James Bond or Jason Bourne.

What We Know About Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible 8 Stunts

Filming Has Given Away Some Secrets

Not too much is known about the plot of Mission: Impossible 8, but a couple of the stunts have been filmed already, and they’re just as bold and frightening as you would expect. Photos have surfaced online of Tom Cruise, dressed in Hunt’s signature white t-shirt and black jacket, hanging from a plane - seemingly by only his hands. Obviously, there’s some movie magic ensuring that Cruise is safely secured to the vehicle, but from a distance (and certainly in the film) this seems like one of the actor’s most dangerous stunts to date.

This definitely won’t be the only stunt that Cruise finds himself performing in Mission: Impossible 8, but for now, the rest have seemingly been kept under wraps. And with ing actor Simon Pegg recently revealing on Instagram (via Cinemablend) that he has finished his portion of filming, it’s very possible that some stunts have already been shot and kept quiet from the public. Pegg had this to say about his Mission: Impossible exit: “What a f——ng incredible spectacle this next film is going to be, I'm so excited for you to see it. But until then, Benji Dunn g off.”

Sources: Cinemablend