Fans Want Mission: Impossible Shelved for a Decade Before Recasting
For the first time in years, fans aren't asking when the next Mission: Impossible will drop — they're asking if it should.
After nearly three decades and seven billion-dollar thrill rides, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning has fans divided about whether Tom Cruise should keep running or finally let Ethan Hunt retire. The latest entry, made on a staggering $400 million budget, has earned $596.5 million worldwide — respectable by any measure, but without the Chinese box office boost that once pushed the series past $700 million.
Final box office numbers:
- Domestic: $197,413,515
- International: $399,100,000
- Worldwide: $596,513,515
The numbers aren't catastrophic, but audiences are openly questioning the future. One Reddit thread exploded with fans calling for Paramount and Skydance to shelve the series for a decade before even thinking about a recast.
"It's done. And that's okay."
Many fans insist there's no need to "save" the franchise at all. User Chen_Geller put it bluntly: "There's no need to 'save' it. It's done. And that's okay." Others echoed that sentiment, arguing that franchises don't need to run indefinitely. getfive agreed: "Yeah just move on. It's ok to be over."
If the series does continue, some fans argue it should follow the Bond model — fresh actors stepping into the role after long breaks. neroselene quipped, "If it really has to continue, just do what James Bond did and make Ethan Hunt a timelord." Another user, daytripjim, added, "Maybe we let it rest for a decade, then recast with new stars and new tech."
Others are less charitable toward Cruise himself. locustpiss wrote,
"I think it needs someone who'll take the material a bit more seriously than Scientology freak Tom Cruise. Someone like Mark 'Marky Mark' Wahlberg."
Another commenter predicted Cruise's ego would never let Ethan Hunt bow out under $600 million:
"Tommy will come back in five or ten years to run again, don't worry."
Not everyone wants the torch passed. Freddy-Philmore reminded skeptics that since Ghost Protocol, every entry has topped $600 million worldwide: "They are an incredibly amazing package of films. No need to keep making them. If they stop, well done. And if they do keep going... they will find a new way to continue. It's survived thanks to Cruise."
But the most popular suggestion remains the simplest: let the series rest. As one user summed it up, "It's ok for franchises to end."