First trailer released for part one of ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning’

The first trailer for the long-awaited seventh instalment in the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise has arrived – you can watch it below.

It comes as the film is finally given a title: ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part One’. Tom Cruise returns as Impossible Missions Force (IMF) agent Ethan Hunt, heading up a cast that also includes series mainstays Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, as well as more recent additions Rebecca Ferguson and Vanessa Kirby. Marvel star Hayley Atwell leads the fresh faces, whilst Canadian actor Henry Czerny makes his first appearance in the franchise since 1996, as former IMF director Eugene Kittridge.

‘Dead Reckoning – Part One’ will be released next year, on July 14, 2023, with ‘Part Two’ following on June 28, 2024. Christopher McQuarrie is in the director’s chair for both, marking his third and fourth turns in the franchise, after having also taken charge of ‘Mission Impossible – Rogue Nation’ in 2015 and ‘Mission Impossible – Fallout’, the series’ most recent movie, in 2018.

The release of the trailer marks the latest stage in a remarkable recent renaissance for Cruise, who has been doing the press rounds at the Cannes Film Festival ahead of the long-delayed release of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ – also directed by McQuarrie – this Friday (May 27). The initial reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

The preview of ‘Dead Reckoning – Part One’, meanwhile, promises high drama across Europe, with Venice appearing to be a major location. Much of it was filmed in the UK, across the course of a lengthy shoot that was derailed multiple times by the COVID-19 pandemic; infamously, Cruise dramatically lost his cool with two crew members who failed to socially distance, with the audio of his resulting rant going viral on Twitter.

The action star, now 59, has long been the bane of movie insurers due to his ongoing insistence on performing all of his own stunts. The ‘Dead Reckoning’ preview suggests he might have outdone himself; the trailer ends with him on the back of a motorbike, launching himself off a cliff. ‘Ozark’ star Esai Morales also appears in the clip; he is set to play the film’s primary antagonist.