Christopher McQuarrie on why a certain M:I character is missing from Fallout

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Over the course of five films, the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE franchise has assembled quite the ensemble of characters to assist Tom Cruise with his globe-trotting and death-defying adventures, but although the soon-to-be-released MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT does contain quite a number of recurring MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE characters, it's missing one of its more recent additions.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT finds Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan, and Alec Baldwin all reprising their roles from previous films, but poor old Jeremy Renner won't be back as William Brandt after appearing in GHOST PROTOCOL and ROGUE NATION. First AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and now MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT? Hawkeye can't catch a break. While speaking with Digital Spy, FALLOUT writer/director Christopher McQuarrie revealed why Jeremy Renner doesn't have a part to play in the latest MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE sequel.

At the time, when the movie started, we didn't really have a screenplay, so it was very difficult for us to say who would be in the movie for how long and on what days, and he had a commitment to Marvel. So there was just simply no predicting. If we had a finished script, we would have been able to say, 'Yes, this will work and we can let you go for this time', but there was just no predicting what those roles were going to turn out to be. It was just an unfortunate case of bad timing.

Jeremy Renner's absence aside, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT has been receiving rave reviews, with some even calling it the best of the franchise. Quite the feat for the sixth installment. In his review of the film, our own JimmyO called the film a "a monumental success in an already impressive franchise. This latest chapter has everything that makes MI work, yet it feels as though they have gone even farther with the wondrous action sequences… Once again, you'll find that this is a terrific cast on a whirlwind adventure, one that rarely lets up." Assuming there's going to be a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 7, and honestly, I feel like Tom Cruise will keep at it until it literally kills him, perhaps Jeremy Renner will return to the fold.

The official synopsis for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT:

The best intentions often come back to haunt you.  Mission: Impossible – Fallout finds Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames) along with some familiar allies (Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan) in a race against time after a mission gone wrong.  Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, and Vanessa Kirby also join the dynamic cast with filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT will hit theaters on July 27th.