Spoilers for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One lie ahead, so read at your own risk.
It honestly feels like there’s no feat Tom Cruise hasn’t attempted for a film at this point in his career. He’s scaled the side of a building, piloted real fighter jets and most recently, jumped off a cliff with a motorcycle. Cruise has also done a number of underwater scenes, which were likely thrilling for moviegoers. However, it would appear that the leading man isn’t done being submerged in H20, as Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie is teasing another underwater sequence for him. And in crafting that scene for the upcoming eighth film in the series, McQuarrie and Cruise hope to rectify their past work.
Christopher McQuarrie has worked with the A-lister on several films over the years, two of which are Edge of Tomorrow and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Both critically acclaimed movies saw the Oscar nominee work with water. Believe it or not, McQuarrie and the Rain Man actor himself weren’t all that happy with how both experiences panned out. This may be surprising to some, but the filmmaker provided a valid reason as to why they were underwhelmed with the final results:
Tom and I are constantly reevaluating our own work and asking ourselves how we could have done it better. We've done underwater sequences previously. We've worked underwater in Edge of Tomorrow, and we worked underwater in Rogue Nation, and we left very dissatisfied with those sequences. And we analyze why we were dissatisfied. What were all the factors working against us? The biggest being, not having real knowledge in that area. Everything you're looking at in Dead Reckoning is the application of knowledge from previous sequences.
I personally enjoyed watching Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa Faust infiltrating a submerged vault in Rogue Nation. The same is true of the final battle with Omega in Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow, which Christopher McQuarrie co-wrote. However, the comments McQuarrie shared with Collider are understandable. When those sequences were done, he and Cruise were (figuratively and literally) dipping their toes into the water. In short, they didn’t have as much knowledge about it from a production standpoint, apparently.
These sentiments give the impression that the Way of the Gun helmer and his colleagues are wiser now, though, and that bodes well for whatever they have planned for Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. Anyone who’s seen Part One would probably agree that it makes sense for a water-based scene to take place in the upcoming sequel. The latest installment saw Ethan Hunt and co. attempt to combat The Entity, an antagonistic and seemingly omnipresent A.I. system. By the end, Hunt learned the program can be destroyed (or controlled) through its source code. That early version is located in the sunken remains of the Sevastopol vessel, and Ethan and ally Benji Dunn are keen on finding it. So you can probably imagine that Hunt – and maybe a few others – will have to descend to the depths to reach the submarine.
That’s an exciting prospect, as Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie truly know how to pull off world-class action sequences. Dead Reckoning Part One alone is sheer evidence of that fact. That motorcycle stunt, which they kicked off filming with, is nothing short of incredible as is the Fiat car chase. McQuarrie and actress Hayley Atwell even explained to CinemaBlend that the latter was a technical nightmare. Nevertheless, the cast and crew really seem to grab the bull by the horns and commit to the work.
One would think that approach to production flowed into production on DR Part Two (which has currently halted amid the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes). I’m excited to see what kind of water-centric sequence the actor and his lead cook up for their next M:I movie. Expect an over-the-top moment that shows they’ve learned from any past mistakes.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is now playing in theaters, and look out for Part Two, which opens on June 28 as part of the 2024 movie schedule. If you’re interested you can also check out M:I: – Rogue Nation using a Paramount+ subscription and Edge of Tomorrow with a Max subscription.
