'Mission: Impossible' 7 and 8 May See Characters Return — Even From The Grave

Through the years, the “Mission: Impossible” franchise has seen characters come and go because they died. Director Christopher McQuarrie recently revealed that these characters—fan favorites or not—may have a chance to return in “Mission: Impossible” 7 and 8.

According to IGN, “Mission: Impossible” 7 and 8 might see the return of former IMF head Eugene Kittridge, a character that was last seen in the original film that started it all. In a Twitter post (that has since been deleted), the actor who plays the character, Henry Czerny, seemed to confirm the return of his character by saying “there is no escaping the past…”

This is in addition to the return of the other characters, series staples led by Tom Cruise, who plays the IMF’s top man Ethan Hunt. McQuarrie revealed this during an interview on the podcast “Light the Fuse,” where he said a previously dead character was coming out in a flashback scene, but it is one he had to cut since it didn’t fit into the scene.

Hollywood Reporter reported that the director had already helmed two films in the series. The first was 2015’s “Rogue Nation” and the latest, 2018’s “Fallout.” Throughout the cinematic run of the films, they were originally one-and-done movies that had very vague connections, if any, to their predecessors. However, it appears they’re trying to build an interconnected world in the other films.

Starting from “Rogue Nation,” the films have gotten more concrete connections with each other. “Fallout” was connected in some way to “Rogue Nation” and had a recurring character, the White Widow, who was the daughter of Max, the arms dealer from the original 1996 film.

The next two films, which reportedly continue this trend, will have Nicholas Hoult cast as the villain. Rebecca Ferguson, Hayley Atwell, and Shea Whigham will also star in the films. “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” Pom Klementieff will also make an appearance.

Paramount and Skydance put the date for “Mission: Impossible 7” on July 23, 2021. “Mission: Impossible 8”, meanwhile, will arrive on Aug. 5, 2022.