What The Final Reckoning Means

Mission: Impossible 8 has been officially titled Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, which could mean big things for the Tom Cruise spy franchise. It was initially announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible movies would be shot back-to-back as a two-part finale for the series. Both films would be written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie, and they would be titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. McQuarrie is still on board to write and direct the eighth film, but the rest of those plans have changed significantly in the past few years.

Since Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One underperformed at the box office, Paramount has been downplaying the two-parter aspect. It wasn’t a total flop, but it grossed far less than its predecessor, earning $570,619,838 against its $291 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). So, Paramount removed the “Part One” from Dead Reckoning’s title in its streaming and home media releases and confirmed that the eighth movie would receive a new title. Now, that title has finally been revealed — Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning — and it seems to suggest a definitive conclusion to the story.

What The Final Reckoning Means

Ethan Hunt’s Past Could Come Back To Haunt Him

The tantalizing subtitle The Final Reckoning hints at what could be in store for the plot of Mission: Impossible 8. The word “final,” of course, refers to the last entry in a sequence, which could mean this will be the final Mission: Impossible movie, or at least the final chapter in its current run. The second word, “reckoning,” is a bit more specific about what the story could entail. A reckoning is when one’s past misdeeds catch up to them and they face some kind of vengeance or punishment for them.

A reckoning is when one’s past misdeeds catch up to them and they face some kind of vengeance or punishment for them.

Mission: Impossible 8 could see Ethan Hunt’s past coming back to haunt him. It would be appropriate for the final chapter of Ethan’s journey to look back into the past and show his chickens coming home to roost. As a government-sanctioned killer who’s been carrying out secret black-ops missions for decades, Ethan has made a lot of enemies and has a lot of skeletons in his closet. The subtitle The Final Reckoning suggests this will be the dramatic focus of Mission: Impossible 8; it won’t just be another case-of-the-week story.

How Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Title Connects To Dead Reckoning

It’ll Still Be The Second Part Of The Dead Reckoning Story

Mission: Impossible 8’s new title finds the perfect middle ground between connecting to the previous film and forging a path of its own. Paramount wanted to change the next movie’s title because fewer people went to see Dead Reckoning Part One than they’d hoped. If Dead Reckoning Part One wasn’t seen by a huge audience, then a movie called Dead Reckoning Part Two would likely face a similar fate, since people who missed Part One might feel like they wouldn’t be able to follow Part Two. The Final Reckoning assures those viewers they don’t need prior knowledge to follow it.

But it still ties into Dead Reckoning by reusing the word “reckoning.” The Final Reckoning isn’t abandoning the lingering plot threads from Dead Reckoning; it’ll still be the second part of that story. It will pick up where Dead Reckoning left off, with Ethan embarking on a mission to find the Sevastopol and destroy the Entity. The “final” part of the title suggests there won’t be a Dead Reckoning Part Three — this one will complete that story.

Does Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s Title Mean The Franchise Is Ending?

The Use Of The Word “Final” Is A Distinctive Choice

The use of the word “final” in the title of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is definitely a distinctive choice, so is this the end of the Mission: Impossible saga? The finality of the title could mean a few things. It could just refer to the final reckoning against the current villain, Esai Morales’ Gabriel, who’s confirmed to reappear in the new movie. It could be set up as Ethan’s final adventure. In the Mission: Impossible 8 trailer, Ethan tells his colleagues, “I need you to trust me… one last time.”

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
is set to be released in theaters on May 23, 2025.

Even if it’s Ethan’s final outing, it probably won’t be the last Mission: Impossible movie ever made. The property is too lucrative for Paramount to let it go and there are plenty of characters who could take the baton from Cruise — Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt was introduced for that exact purpose — but it will likely be the end of the current iteration of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning might be similar to how Avengers: Endgame wasn’t the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it was just the end for Robert Downey, Jr.’s Iron Man.

Source: Box Office Mojo