Mission Impossible 9 Coming or Not: Why Christopher McQuarrie May Already Be Planning Ahead

When Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (2025) came out, it was rumored to be the final chapter of the franchise, as the trailer showed Ethan Hunt (played by Tom Cruise) saying, “I need you to trust me, one last time.”​

The glorious 29-year era came to an end, which we thought was true as the title “The Final Reckoning” indicated. The question still looms: Is Mission Impossible 9 coming or not? The director, Christopher McQuarrie, clarified that it will not be the end of the franchise.  ​

McQuarrie is the only director to helm multiple films in the franchise, as he has directed four Mission Impossible films till now, including Rogue Nation (2015), Fallout (2018), Dead Reckoning (2023), and The Final Reckoning (2025).

Christopher McQuarrie’s interview with Entertainment Weekly came out in 2023, and upon asking whether there is a possibility of Mission Impossible 9, he responded,

“Look, we’re still shooting 8 and there’s any number of ways that that story could play out…There’s always a plan, the plan always changes, everything goes completely awry, and hopefully everything always turns out alright in the end.” [Source]

The director confirmed that he already has ideas floating in his mind for the next installment. From his remarks, it’s clear that even during production, new concepts continue to emerge—seeds that could eventually grow into a full story. The team is already in motion, typically thinking in terms of tone, themes, and set pieces for the next one.​

This means that the ideas are mere fragments that need to have a concrete shape, and that wouldn’t be possible without collaboration with Tom Cruise. A fully mapped-out Mission Impossible 9 needs a locked script and an entire storyline to justify it.

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What will Mission Impossible 9 mean in the future?

Ryan Gosling recently said that it is not the audience’s responsibility to keep theaters alive. Rather, it is the filmmaking industry that should keep making films that would pull the audience back to cinemas.

The Mission Impossible franchise has been doing it for the past three decades successfully, with Cruise dominating fantastically epic stunts, for which he recently earned a well-deserved Honorary Oscar.

Then, Hunt adventures have been a torchbearer for the modern blockbuster franchise, but how that would carry forward without Cruise in the spotlight is a big question. Keeping its appeal intact for the newer generation who are used to short-form content and have shrinking attention spans, a new Mission Impossible 9 will have to be more impactful, and that too, without Cruise in the forefront.

An MI film needs modifications in terms of pacing and storytelling for Gen Z and generations beyond. Younger audiences are raised on platforms like TikTok and YouTube and are used to immediacy. Stories that get them hooked in the first 30 seconds would be a task.​

It doesn’t mean shortening the film, but delivering constant engagement with faster setups, sharper payoffs, and fewer dull scenes that only include talking. The younger audience might have a different view of perceiving the icon, Tom Cruise. A more flawed and morally complex Ethan Hunt might offer entertainment to them.  

Cruise himself also wants to do more Mission Impossible flicks, but he has other projects up his sleeve, such as another Christopher McQuarrie’s World War II action drama, Broadsword; his space movie in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, Top Gun 3, and Digger. Maybe they want to give the MI franchise a break and come back stronger. Till then, they want to keep the hype alive and get more people interested. 

Is Mission Impossible 9 coming or not? What lies ahead for Tom Cruise after Mission 8?​

The ending of The Final Reckoning left doors open to new opportunities for the continuation of the franchise. Likely, Tom Cruise’s potential transition from Ethan Hunt to a higher role in the agency is witnessed in the potential new installment.​

The franchise could continue with a new generation. Even if Hunt is not seen sitting behind a desk doing paperwork, he could be invested in an unseen mission as a “ghost” operative or a watchdog rather than a constantly running field agent who is always ready for high-stakes stunts.​

Any further installments might give us Hunt in his mid-60s playing a character who is supervising or coordinating missions. He had always been a moral center of the team rather than just an agent. The next Mission Impossible film might redefine his role from operator to architect.​

Instead of hanging off planes and climbing Burj Khalifa, Hunt could dive into a more strategic and command-driven role. He could be making important phone calls and guiding a new generation of agents. And certainly, this would require a stronger ensemble that can pull off as physically demanding a role as Cruise.