Ethan Hunt needs you to trust him, one last time. Will “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” actually be his final outing? Hard to know for sure. But what we do know is that each of his missions so far has led to this one, so you might be wondering: how important is it to watch all of the other “Mission: Impossible” films?
Hitting theaters on May 23, “The Final Reckoning” sees Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team continue their fight against The Entity, an AI parasite that is hellbent on destroying the human race. Given that The Entity can assess and account for almost every possible outcome, the mission does seem a bit more impossible, knowing every move the humans make may be part of a bigger design.
The eighth film in the franchise is a direct continuation of the events in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” albeit with a little time having passed.
So, here’s how to prepare.
Do I need to watch all the ‘Mission: Impossible’ films before this one?
If you want to be able to understand every reference and easter egg in “The Final Reckoning,” then yes, you’ll need to watch each of the seven previous films. Though some installments of the franchise stand on their own, this one has quite a few callbacks to past movies in the series.
If you don’t mind being in the dark on a few characters and macguffins, then no, it’s not absolutely required to watch the previous films to understand what’s happening here.
Are any more important than the others?
Yes, “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” relies more heavily on some installments than others. The ones you’ll definitely need to have seen in order to get the references are:
- Mission: Impossible (1996) — You should also make a note of the premiere date of this one
- Mission: Impossible III (2006)
- Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning (2023)
“The Final Reckoning” makes references to characters and events from just about all of the films, but thanks to flashbacks and exposition, the others are pretty easy to follow.
How do I watch them all in order?
The correct order of the “Mission: Impossible” films is:
- “Mission: Impossible” (1996)
- “Mission: Impossible 2” (2000)
- “Mission: Impossible III” (2006)
- “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” (2011)
- “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (2015)
- “Mission: Impossible – Fallout” (2018)
- “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning” (2023)
