For fans of the Mission: Impossible series, the absence of Jeremy Renner's character, William Brandt, in Mission: Impossible – Fallout was a notable gap. Renner, known for his dynamic roles in the Avengers series and Mayor of Kingstown, turned down the opportunity to return to the franchise once he learned his character would meet an untimely end.
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Renner recounted his reaction to the proposed return, stating, “I remember they tried to bring me over[seas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, ‘No, you don't get to do that. You're not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,' like get out of here!” Renner humorously added, “If you're going to do this and you're going to use my character, you're going to do it right.”
Despite this decision, Renner has not closed the door on the Mission: Impossible series. In a recent interview with Collider, he expressed his fondness for the franchise and the character, revealing that he might consider a return in the future. “I love those guys. I love Tom [Cruise] so much. We had so much fun, and I love that character a lot. It requires a lot of time away. It's all in London. I had to go be a dad. It just wasn't gonna work out then… Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen. I'd always jump into a Mission: Impossible anytime and back into Brandt. It's great.”
As we look forward to Mission: Impossible 8, the excitement only builds. The plot promises to continue the intense storyline from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team must thwart terrorist Gabriel (Esai Morales) from acquiring a powerful AI “Entity” that could become the ultimate weapon in cyber warfare. The quest to control this AI leads them on a perilous mission to retrieve the source code trapped on a sunken Russian submarine in the Arctic.
The returning cast is a powerhouse ensemble featuring Ving Rhames, Henry Czerny, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Esai Morales, Hayley Atwell, Shea Whigham, and Pom Klementieff. Adding to the excitement are new faces like Holt McCallany (Mindhunters), Nick Offerman (Parks and Rec), Janet McTeer (Ozark), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Lucy Tulugarjuk, Katy O'Brian (The Mandalorian), and Tramell Tillman (Severance).
With all these elements combined, Mission: Impossible 8 is set to be a thrilling continuation of the saga, blending action, suspense, and a star-studded cast. Fans are eagerly awaiting to see how Ethan Hunt and his team will overcome their next “impossible” mission.
