end the Mission: Impossible franchise possibly.

The idea of ending the Mission: Impossible franchise puts extra pressure on The Final Reckoning to be a major hit and give Cruise's Ethan Hunt a proper sendoff. But it also adds weight to any franchise connections to previous films that it includes. It's long been known that the eighth installment would dive deep into the franchise's lore to pay off some central mysteries by bringing back William Donloe from the original 1996 movie. However, the Mission: Impossible 8 trailer has now confirmed a massively important Mission: Impossible 3 connection with the Rabbit's Foot.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning Is Connected To Mission: Impossible 3's Rabbit's Foot

The Mysterious Weapon Is Back

In a brief moment in the first Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning teaser trailer, it is revealed that the mysterious MacGuffin from JJ Abrams in the franchise's third installment is making a return. The recognizable Mission: Impossible 3's Rabbit's Foot is seen as Ethan grabs it from a container. While the Rabbit's Foot played a central role in Mission: Impossible 3, the movie left out the scene of Ethan stealing the potential biological superweapon. There is no archival footage of that scene for The Final Reckoning to repurpose, confirming this is a brand-new shot meant for The Final Reckoning.

This implies that McQuarrie shot new footage for the eighth installment showing Ethan stealing the Rabbit's Foot in this previous mission. That decision and including the MacGuffin in such a clear manner in the trailer provides evidence that the Rabbit's Foot factors into Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning's story somehow. There was no way this Easter egg was going to sneak past viewers who are in touch with the action franchise's history, so seeing the Rabbit's Foot in the trailer is meant to spark more theories about its role and purpose.

The Rabbit's Foot Makes Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning More Exciting

The Franchise Is Tying Everything Together

The fact that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is making the Rabbit's Foot important again after Mission: Impossible 3 is incredibly exciting. The mystery of what the Rabbit's Foot really is has lingered for far too long, and there is now a chance that McQuarrie and Cruise intend to answer Abrams' mystery box. But even if that does not come, the fact that The Final Reckoning is tying into Mission: Impossible 3 at all is still incredibly fun. The third installment is often overlooked and underappreciated, but its still a massively important installment for Hunt's story.

Mission: Impossible 3 was the last Mission: Impossible movie Christopher McQuarrie was not involved in

Ethan's search for the Rabbit's Foot in Mission: Impossible III was the first time he worked with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg). The series made Benji, Ethan, and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) the core for future installments. However, The Final Reckoning could be the last time they are together, as the trailer sets up Luther's death, while Ethan's death has been theorized. If Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning does close out this era of the franchise for Ethan, Benji, and Luther, connecting it back to where it started for them with the Rabbit's Foot and Mission: Impossible III is brilliant.