Movies / News
Why This Fatal Moment In 'Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning' Was Unexpectedly Absent
Director Christopher McQuarrie provides insight into why Ethan Hunt survives in the final film, revealing his creative choices and storytelling approach.
Warning! The article below may contain spoilers.
Director Christopher McQuarrie has revealed why the main character Ethan Hunt, played by Tom Cruise, does not die in Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, despite earlier hints that this concluding part would mark the end of his story. Unlike the recent James Bond film, he consciously chose a different approach.
McQuarrie seriously considered giving Hunt a dramatic end in the final scene of the film. According to the filmmaker, a gravestone at that moment would have "conveyed the sense of sacrifice sufficiently."
During the editing process, McQuarrie wavered over killing off the character: "There was a moment I thought: 'If you cut to his grave now, it would be enough. That’s really strong.'" However, he decided that Hunt's death did not serve the essence of the story. "Wrapping up a story doesn’t automatically mean the protagonist has to die. Life continues, stories continue, even if films do not," said the director.
In the film, Ethan disappears at a mysterious moment into a cloud bank, leading some viewers to suspect he may still have perished.
The comparison with Daniel Craig’s farewell as James Bond in No Time to Die is quickly made. There, the choice was indeed made to let the main character die, a rarity in the franchise’s history.
McQuarrie intentionally chose a different approach, allowing the iconic character Ethan Hunt to live on for an open ending. This keeps the possibility of Cruise's return in the Mission: Impossible universe always alive.
McQuarrie seriously considered giving Hunt a dramatic end in the final scene of the film. According to the filmmaker, a gravestone at that moment would have "conveyed the sense of sacrifice sufficiently."
Not A Definitive Farewell
During the editing process, McQuarrie wavered over killing off the character: "There was a moment I thought: 'If you cut to his grave now, it would be enough. That’s really strong.'" However, he decided that Hunt's death did not serve the essence of the story. "Wrapping up a story doesn’t automatically mean the protagonist has to die. Life continues, stories continue, even if films do not," said the director.
In the film, Ethan disappears at a mysterious moment into a cloud bank, leading some viewers to suspect he may still have perished.
Difference From James Bond
The comparison with Daniel Craig’s farewell as James Bond in No Time to Die is quickly made. There, the choice was indeed made to let the main character die, a rarity in the franchise’s history.
McQuarrie intentionally chose a different approach, allowing the iconic character Ethan Hunt to live on for an open ending. This keeps the possibility of Cruise's return in the Mission: Impossible universe always alive.
