Mission: Impossible is an American series of action spy films, based on the 1966 television series created by Bruce Geller. The series is mainly produced by Tom Cruise, who plays Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF). The films have been directed, written, and scored by various filmmakers and crew, while incorporating musical themes from the original series by Lalo Schifrin.
Starting in 1996, the series follows the missions of the IMF's main field team, under Hunt's leadership, to stop an enemy force and prevent an impending global disaster. The series focuses on Hunt's character, and like the television series' structure, is complemented by an ensemble cast, such as Luther Stickell (played by Ving Rhames) and Benji Dunn (played by Simon Pegg), who have recurring roles.
The series has experienced a generally positive reception from critics and audience. It is the 16th-highest-grossing film series of all time, earning over $4.35 billion worldwide, and is often cited as one of the best action franchises to date. The sixth film, subtitled Fallout, was released on July 27, 2018, and is currently the series' highest-grossing entry. The seventh film, Dead Reckoning Part One, was released in July 2023, and the eighth film, The Final Reckoning, had its theatrical release in late May 2025. The films are co-produced and released by Paramount Pictures.
In 2024, the series received its first Academy Award nominations, with Dead Reckoning Part One being nominated in the categories of Best Visual Effects and Best Sound at the 96th ceremony.
Films Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Story by Producers Mission: Impossible Brian De Palma David Koepp & Robert Towne David Koepp & Steven Zaillian Tom Cruise & Paula Wagner Mission: Impossible 2 John Woo Robert Towne Brannon Braga & Ronald D. Moore Mission: Impossible III J. J. Abrams J. J. Abrams, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Brad Bird André Nemec & Josh Appelbaum Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk & J. J. Abrams Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Christopher McQuarrie Christopher McQuarrie Drew Pearce & Christopher McQuarrie Tom Cruise, Bryan Burk, Don Granger, J. J. Abrams, Dana Goldberg & David Ellison Mission: Impossible – Fallout Christopher McQuarrie Tom Cruise, Jake Myers, J. J. Abrams & Christopher McQuarrie Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Christopher McQuarrie & Erik Jendresen Tom Cruise & Christopher McQuarrie Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Mission: Impossible (1996)
In the first film of the series, Ethan Hunt is framed for the murder of his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team during a botched mission in Prague and accused of selling government secrets to an arms dealer known only as "Max". On the run, Ethan seeks to discover the real traitor and clear his name from the incident.
Mission: Impossible 2 (2000)
In the second film, Ethan Hunt goes back in action and works with a professional thief Nyah Nordoff-Hall (Thandie Newton). The duo go undercover to stop rogue IMF agent Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) (who is also Nyah's former lover) from stealing a deadly virus, starting a pandemic and selling the antidote to the highest bidder.
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
In the third film, Ethan is engaged to Julia Meade (Michelle Monaghan), who is unaware of his true job. He assembles a team to face the elusive arms and information broker Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who intends to sell a mysterious dangerous object known as "The Rabbit's Foot".
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)
In the fourth film, Ethan and the entire IMF are framed for the bombing of the Kremlin while investigating an individual known only as "Cobalt" (Michael Nyqvist). Ethan and three other agents are left to stop Cobalt from starting a global nuclear war.
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
In the fifth film, Ethan Hunt comes under threat from the Syndicate. Faced with the IMF's disbandment, Hunt assembles his team for their mission to prove the Syndicate's existence and bring the organization down by any means necessary.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)
In the sixth film, when an IMF mission to recover plutonium goes wrong, the world is faced with the threat of the Apostles, a terrorist group formed by former members of the Syndicate. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill the original mission, the CIA begins to question his loyalty and his motives.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)
In the seventh film, an AI called the Entity is responsible for the sinking of the next-generation Russian submarine Sevastopol. The Entity has since gone rogue and entrenched itself into cyberspace; the secret to stopping or controlling it lies with the key, which Ethan Hunt and the IMF must track down, as various world powers and nefarious forces race to obtain the key in order to use the Entity for their own purpose.
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
In the eighth film, two months later, Ethan Hunt and the IMF, joined by new allies, continue to search for the Entity, aiming to destroy it before it can trigger a nuclear apocalypse.
Future In June 2023, Christopher McQuarrie stated that Dead Reckoning Part One and The Final Reckoning would not end the series, as there are developments for future installments. In July 2023, during promotion for Dead Reckoning Part One, Cruise expressed interest in continuing to make further films in the series as Ethan Hunt, despite both films having previously been billed as a send-off to the character. Inspired by Harrison Ford's continued success in the Indiana Jones films, Cruise stated that he would like to keep making Mission: Impossible films until he is likewise in his eighties. Nevertheless, in May 2025, during the New York premiere for The Final Reckoning, Cruise confirmed that the film would be his final film in the series, stating "The film is the final! It's not called 'final' for nothing".
Cast and characters
Character Films Mission: Impossible Mission: Impossible2 Mission: ImpossibleIII – Ghost Protocol – Rogue Nation – Fallout – Dead Reckoning Part One – The Final Reckoning 1996 2000 2006 2011 2015 2018 2023 2025 Ethan Hunt Tom Cruise Luther Stickell Ving Rhames Ving Rhames The Voice on Tape Henry Czerny Anthony Hopkins Billy Crudup Teddy Newton Christopher McQuarrie Henry Czerny Angela Bassett Eugene Kittridge colspan="5" Henry Czerny William Donloe Rolf Saxon colspan="6" Rolf Saxon The Contact Andreas Wisniewski colspan="2" colspan="4" Jim Phelps Jon Voight colspan="6" Claire Phelps Emmanuelle Béart colspan="6" Franz Krieger Jean Reno colspan="7" Sarah Davies Kristin Scott Thomas colspan="6" Max Mitsopolis Vanessa Redgrave colspan="4" colspan="2" Hannah Williams Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė colspan="6" Jack Harmon Emilio Estevez colspan="6" Alexander Golitsyn Marcel Iureș colspan="7" Sean Ambrose Dougray Scott colspan="5" Nyah Nordoff-Hall Thandie Newton colspan="6" Hugh Stamp Richard Roxburgh colspan="6" Billy Baird John Polson colspan="6" John C. McCloy Brendan Gleeson colspan="6" Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich Rade Šerbedžija colspan="6" Benjamin "Benji" Dunn colspan="2" Simon Pegg Dr. Julia "Jules" Meade colspan="2" Michelle Monaghan Michelle Monaghan Owen Davian colspan="2" Philip Seymour Hoffman colspan="4" John Musgrave colspan="2" Billy Crudup colspan="5" Declan Gormley colspan="2" Jonathan Rhys Meyers colspan="5" Lindsey Farris colspan="2" Keri Russell colspan="4" Zhen Lei colspan="2" Maggie Q colspan="4" Theodore Brassel colspan="2" Laurence Fishburne colspan="4" William Brandt colspan="3" Jeremy Renner colspan="2" Jane Carter colspan="3" Paula Patton colspan="3" Kurt Hendricks colspan="3" Michael Nyqvist colspan="3" Anatoly Sidorov colspan="3" Vladimir Mashkov colspan="4" Sabine Moreau colspan="3" Léa Seydoux colspan="3" Trevor Hanaway colspan="3" Josh Holloway colspan="4" Briji Nath colspan="3" Anil Kapoor colspan="4" Marius Wistrom colspan="3" Samuli Edelmann colspan="4" Leonid Lisenker colspan="3" Ivan Shvedoff colspan="4" IIsa Faust colspan="4" Rebecca Ferguson Solomon Lane colspan="4" Sean Harris Alan Hunley colspan="4" Alec Baldwin Atlee colspan="4" Simon McBurney colspan="3" Lauren colspan="4" Zhang Jingchu colspan="3" the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom colspan="4" Tom Hollander colspan="3" Janik "Bone" Doctor" Vinter colspan="4" Jens Hultén colspan="2" Alanna Mitsopolis colspan="5" Vanessa Kirby Zola Mitsopolis colspan="5" Frederick Schmidt President Erika Sloane colspan="5" Angela Bassett Angela Bassett August Walker colspan="5" Henry Cavill Erik colspan="5" Wes Bentley colspan="2" John Lark colspan="5" Liang Yang Nils Delbruuk colspan="5" Kristoffer Joner Grace colspan="6" Hayley Atwell Gabriel Martinelli colspan="6" Esai Morales Paris colspan="6" Pom Klementieff Marie colspan="6" Mariela Garriga Jim Phelps Jr. colspan="6" Shea Whigham Theo Degas colspan="6" Greg Tarzan Davis Head of the NSA colspan="6" Mark Gatiss Head of the NRO colspan="6" Charles Parnell Delinger colspan="6" Cary Elwes Head of the JSOC colspan="6" Rob Delaney Head of the DIA colspan="6" Indira Varma Serling Bernstein colspan="7" Holt McCallany Walters colspan="7" Janet McTeer General Sidney colspan="7" Nick Offerman Rear Admiral Neely colspan="7" Hannah Waddingham Capt. Jack Bledsoe colspan="7" Tramell Tillman
Additional crew and production details +Production details of Mission: Impossible films Film Crew/Detail Composer Cinematographer Editor(s) Production companies Distributing companies Running time Mission: Impossible Danny Elfman Stephen H. Burum Paul Hirsch Paramount PicturesCruise/Wagner Productions Paramount Pictures 110 min Mission: Impossible 2 Hans Zimmer Jeffrey L. Kimball Steven KemperChristian Wagner Paramount PicturesCruise/Wagner ProductionsMunich Film Partners & Company 124 min Mission: Impossible III Michael Giacchino Dan Mindel Mary Jo MarkeyMaryann Brandon Paramount PicturesCruise/Wagner ProductionsThe Fourth Production Company Film Group 126 min Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Robert Elswit Paul Hirsch TC ProductionsSkydance MediaParamount PicturesBad Robot 133 min Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Joe Kraemer Eddie Hamilton 131 min Mission: Impossible – Fallout Lorne Balfe Rob Hardy 147 min Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Fraser Taggart TC ProductionsSkydance MediaParamount Pictures 163 min Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey 170 min
Reception Box office performance
+Box-office performance of Mission: Impossible films (Dollar amounts are not adjusted for inflation) Film U.S. release date Budget Box-office gross Domestic International Worldwide Mission: Impossible May 22, 1996 $80 million $180,981,856 $276,714,535 $457,696,391 Mission: Impossible 2 May 24, 2000 $125 million $215,409,889 $330,978,219 $546,388,108 Mission: Impossible III May 5, 2006 $150 million $134,029,801 $264,449,696 $398,479,497 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol December 16, 2011 $145 million $209,397,903 $485,315,477 $694,713,380 Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation July 31, 2015 $150 million $195,042,377 $487,674,259 $682,716,636 Mission: Impossible – Fallout July 27, 2018 $178 million $220,159,104 $571,498,294 $791,657,398 Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One July 12, 2023 $291 million $172,640,980 $398,484,455 $571,125,435 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning May 23, 2025 $300–400 million $197,413,515 $401,353,542 $598,767,057 Total $1.419–1.519 billion $ $ $
Critical and public response The Mission: Impossible film series has received positive reviews from critics and audiences, with Ghost Protocol through Dead Reckoning Part One attracting significant praise directed towards their direction, cinematography, stunts, action sequences, performances, and musical scores.