A key character from Mission: Impossible 8 was hidden in issue #7
“The spectators have not yet spotted it. Yet it is there, right before your eyes…”
Christopher McQuarrie is he playing with the nerves of the fans of Impossible mission ? The director of the last four opuses, Rogue Nation has Dead Reckoning – Part 2which is currently being produced and should be released in the summer of 2024 in cinemas, reveals during a podcastEmpire dedicated to the spy saga having hidden in his last film a key character from n°8.
“The spectators have not yet spotted it, he explains. Yet it is there, right before your eyes. You spend your time looking for Easter Eggs, and there’s one right in the middle of the screen, and maybe only two people caught it. Even though it’s a fucking casting announcement! At the heart of the film. Just there. Those who saw it did not understand what it meant. They misunderstood the message – because it not only reveals that this character will be in the sequel, it also tells you what their role will be, in one frame.”
Mission Impossible 7: a new peak for the Tom Cruise saga (review)
Lynx-eyed notice -and watch out for spoilers for those who have not seen Mission: Impossible 7– what role can the co-writer (with Erik Jendresen) and director of Dead Reckoning ? At the beginning of the last opus, there is a photo of Angela Bassett as Erika Sloane. A very official photo, displayed in an office, which suggests that the director of the CIA could have changed jobs: has she, for example, become the president of the United States? This would thus be a new role… but not quite an announcement of this casting, since the actress has been present in the saga since Mission: Impossible Falloutreleased in cinemas in 2018.
Another idea, a little more complicated: during the same podcast, Chris McQuarrie for example revealed that before choosing Mariela Garriga to play Marie, a woman who dies in the arms of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) at the start of the film , he had thought of hire Julia Roberts to rejuvenate it digitally. Could it be that the big bad of the story, Gabriel (Esai Morales) manipulated the spy all this time into believing she was dead? Could she come back by surprise? In the guise of the star of Pretty Woman ? It’s a bit twisted, but it would definitely be a huge casting announcement! But in this case, what would be the Easter Egg hidden in the film?
Mission: Impossible 7 was supposed to open differently: a scene with Alec Baldwin was cut
Another avenue put forward by the director: the Entity is lying to us. Presented from the start of the film as a powerful threat, she is at the heart of the opening credits, which traditionally tease key elements of the upcoming film. Except that by analyzing it in detail, it contains images which will ultimately never be shown subsequently.
“Yes, there are some false leads in these opening credits, he concedes, always to Empire. There are shots that ultimately won’t be in the film. This is my way of responding to all the spectators who say: ‘Don’t put spoilers in the opening credits!’ Already, it is a tradition in Impossible mission. This is something that has been around since the original series. Ok, very good, I won’t spoil anything for you… instead I’ll show you shots that are ultimately not in my film. The Entity lied to you. If you look closely at these credits, they are corrupted. Dates and coordinates get mixed up before disappearing. “For everything that appears in this film, we paid close attention to the impact that the Entity would have on the narrative itself.”
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning part 1 will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 22. We can then go through it to try to solve this mystery… if McQuarrie hasn’t revealed the end of the story before! Here is its trailer:
Mission Impossible 7: the first cut lasted 4 hours, including 1h30 for the train scene