Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning director explains what the title means for Ethan Hunt

Last Updated on November 28, 2022

Ethan Hunt’s next death-defying adventure won’t roll out in theaters until next summer, but Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning director Christopher McQuarrie has teased the meaning behind the vague title while speaking with Empire.

“There are many things emerging from Ethan’s past,” Christopher McQuarrie said. “‘Dead reckoning’ is a navigational term. It means you’re picking a course based solely on your last known position and that becomes quite the metaphor not only for Ethan, but several characters.” Make of that what you will, but it’s important to note that Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning is the first half of a two-parter, which McQuarries teases will be epic. “The first thing we knew was that if it’s gonna be a big two-part adventure, it’s got to be epic,” McQuarrie said. “It’s going to have to be the instalment that swallows the rest of the franchise whole. There’s just not another way to do it.“

In addition to Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One also features Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell, Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, Rebecca Ferguson as Ila Faust, Hayley Atwell as Grace, Vanessa Kirby as Alanna Mitsopolis, Henry Czerny as Eugene Kittridge, Shea Whigham as Jasper Briggs, Frederick Schmidt as Zola Mitsopolis, and Esai Morales as the movie’s main villain. Pom Klementieff, Rob Delaney, Cary Elwes, Indira Varma, Mark Gatiss, Charles Parnell, Greg Davis, and Marcin Dorociński also appear.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One will hit theaters on July 14, 2023, followed by Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part Two on June 28, 2024. Nothing has been confirmed, but it’s expected that these films will serve as a sendoff for Tom Cruise’s character. After all, the man can’t keep constantly risking his life for much longer… or can he?