Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning!

Now that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is out, there are major questions about whether there will be another Mission: Impossible movie in the future. Paramount and Tom Cruise have seen the series grow from its roots as a 1996 spy thriller into a modern action blockbuster franchise filled with some of the most unbelievable stunts in history. The Final Reckoning is the eighth movie in which Cruise has played IMF agent Ethan Hunt. What's different about this installment is where it leaves his story and the franchise's future overall.

Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible future specifically, but that is likely to be tied directly to the franchise's next steps overall after The Final Reckoning.

There Are No Mission: Impossible Movies Confirmed After The Final Reckoning

It's The Final Reckoning For A Reason

The Mission: Impossible movies have never operated at a point where future sequels were confirmed to be in development before the most recent film came out, excluding the announcement of the seventh and eighth installments happening back-to-back. It's unsurprising, then, that Paramount has not confirmed plans for more Mission: Impossible movies beyond the 2025 blockbuster. Any official development on Mission: Impossible 9 has yet to begin. There's also no word on spinoff movies or TV shows coming either.

This does not mean that there will never be another Mission: Impossible movie. In fact, that's a reality that will likely never come to . This franchise is one of the biggest that Paramount has, and in an era of Hollywood where franchises are prioritized so much, it would be a real surprise if the studio entirely gave up on a series that has brought in over $4 billion at the box office. There will surely be a day when another Mission: Impossible movie is made. Who is involved and when it happens are the bigger variables at play.

The Final Reckoning Could Be The Last Mission: Impossible Movie (For Now)

Cruise Is Moving On

Instead of thinking of The Final Reckoning as the last Mission: Impossible movie we'll ever see, it might be more appropriate to consider it the temporary conclusion. Early reports suggested the movie was meant to give Cruise an exit from the franchise. That could be done with The Final Reckoning's ending, but it's also not definitive. It's also worth noting that Christopher McQuarrie said in 2023 that "plans change" when asked about the franchise's future. That creates a sense that this story isn't permanently done.

Still, it could be a long time before another Mission: Impossible movie is made. Tom Cruise has a lot of movies in development that he wants to do after spending basically half a decade making Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning. This includes new original projects with McQuarrie, as well as sequels like Top Gun 3 and Days of Thunder 2. He has a new deal set up at Warner Bros. to make movies for a studio other than Paramount, too. All signs point to him focusing his time and energy on making movies that aren't Mission: Impossible sequels for the foreseeable future.

The Final Reckoning is the last movie in this series that could come for several years

In that case, The Final Reckoning is the last movie in this series that could come for several years. Cruise appears to be willing to take a hiatus from Ethan Hunt, experiment with other projects and characters, and then still have the option to come back to Mission: Impossible if he wants to.

The real question may be whether Paramount becomes willing to make Mission: Impossible movies without Cruise in the leading role. That seems unlikely, considering he's been a producer on the franchise from the beginning. The ball is likely in Cruise's court regarding whether there's another Mission: Impossible film after The Final Reckoning. If he wants to make one, there will be one. If not, then it might require his blessing for a reboot or spinoff to happen instead.

Tom Cruise Has Left The Door Open To Make Another Mission: Impossible Movie

The Final Reckoning Even Teases His Return

Part of the reason it's difficult to believe that The Final Reckoning is the last Mission: Impossible movie we'll ever get comes from Tom Cruise. He has said in the past that he'd love to continuing playing Ethan Hunt as long as audiences are interested in them. Cruise even highlighted wanting to play Ethan for as long as Harrison Ford played Indiana Jones. Considering Ford made the fifth Indiana Jones movie when he was 80 and Cruise is still in his early 60s, there's plenty of time left for him to come back as Ethan one last time.

It's also notable that The Final Reckoning teases us with Ethan's return, eventually. During Luther's final message, he says, "The world still needs you." While the entire message can feel like a commentary on Cruise's legacy as a Hollywood movie star and advocate for the theatrical experience, it still works in-universe as a suggestion that Ethan's story isn't over. He might go off into the shadows to hide The Entity forever, but there is absolutely a way for him to come back in future movies without undoing The Final Reckoning.

The Final Reckoning's Box Office Will Help Determine Mission: Impossible's Future

Its Success Could Change Things Quickly

Tom Cruise's interest in making another Mission: Impossible movie is a huge component to whether The Final Reckoning is it, but the movie's box office will also play a crucial role. Paramount got the short end of the stick in July 2023 by putting Dead Reckoning in theaters right before Barbie and Oppenheimer became box office juggernauts. The seventh installment made $571 million at the box office. With a $291 million budget, Dead Reckoning's box office can only really be labeled as a disappointment.

With The Final Reckoning's budget ballooning to over $400 million potentially, the studio is in another position where a new Mission: Impossible movie may not turn a profit at the box office. Opening weekend projections are favorable for the eighth movie, as it could set a new record high for the franchise. It will need to continue on that pace to be a box office hit. Usual Hollywood math says a movie needs to make 2.5x its budget at the box office to break even. That'd be $1 billion for The Final Reckoning.

If the new movie can come anywhere close to hitting those box office highs, Paramount will certainly not want to wait around and let the Mission: Impossible IP dry up. There will be increased pressure to make another film, no matter what it costs to bring Cruise back. And as long as audiences are communicating with their wallets that Mission: Impossible is a franchise they want to see more of, Paramount and Cruise are sure to listen.

This all points to the likely eventuality that another Mission: Impossible movie will come. It might not be next year, the year after, or even the year after that. It might not even be until we're in the 2030s. But, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is unlikely to be the true conclusion of the franchise overall. The IP is too big for Hollywood to let it die, even if that means finding a way to move forward without Cruise if he's reluctant to return.