It’s well known by now that director Christopher McQuarrie and star-producer Tom Cruise create their Mission: Impossible movies by figuring out a plot that fits neatly around the pre-decided action sequences. One particular piece of the puzzle that took quite a bit of figuring out to do according to the duo was the ending. While they had a solid idea of what they wanted the end to be, they weren’t entirely sure how to depict it on screen, more so in a way that refrains from it seeming like a cliffhanger.
In an interview with Total Film, McQuarrie explained the quandary that he and Cruise faced in bringing the film to a conclusion without actively setting up a next one. Instead, they wanted audiences to feel a sense of resolution or closure by providing them a satisfying ending that works in its own right. McQuarrie laid out the laborious talks that led to them finally cracking it.
Where we ended the movie was always where we were going to end it. How we ended the movie was a big, big mystery for us. It kept Tom awake at night throughout production. He would come in all the time and say, ‘This can’t be a cliffhanger, it’s got to be satisfying.’ The audience has to feel a sense of completion. Tom kept looking at that scene and he had all this anxiety about whether or not it would be a satisfying conclusion or whether it would feel open-ended. We constantly revisited it, constantly refined it.
The ending was conceptualized so late into production that Cruise had to don a wig as he had grown his hair by that time for Dead Reckoning Part Two. McQuarrie also revealed their intent behind crafting an ending that encourages viewers to return back on their own to find out where the story goes, instead of leaving them with an open-ended climax that forces them back in theaters.
If you leave it with a cliffhanger, it feels a little bit like we’re expecting you to come back. We didn’t want that feeling. The feeling we were reaching for – and we hope you feel – is we dare you not to come back. We want to leave you thinking, ‘Oh, I can’t wait to see what happens next.’
Fans for now will need to wait for an entire year to see how Ethan Hunt tracks down the rogue AI system named “The Entity”. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two hits theaters next year on June 28, 2024. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is currently playing in theaters. Check out my review here.
