Mission: Impossible Director Teases Important Character Return

In addition to posting a photo of Czerny as Kittridge, Chris McQuarrie also added the ominous caption of “There is no escaping the past…”, which only raises new questions about what Mission: Impossible 7 will be all about.

Christopher McQuarrie made Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Mission: Impossible – Fallout into big successes, which also streamline the series into a much more serialized storyline. Now McQuarrie has been tapped to do both Mission: Impossible 7 & 8, which are rumored to be the possible two-part ending for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. McQuarrie teasing major connections to Brian De Palma’s original Mission: Impossible could be a major tease to fans that the franchise could be bringing back another major foe for Ethan Hunt.

In the original Mission: Impossible, it’s revealed that Ethan IMF team leader and mentor Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) faked his death and killed Ethan’s team, framing Ethan for the crime. Jim seemed to meet a grisly end (being crushed by a helicopter in a train tunnel), but you never know. There’s also a couple femme fatales from the De Palma film that could strike back, including Jim’s wife / co-conspirator Claire (Emmanuelle Béart), who seemed to die of a gunshot wound – or Max (Vanessa Redgrave), the black market arms dealer Ethan busted. Max turned informant and eventually became a philanthropist, while her daughter Alanna (Vanessa Kirby) was an ally to Ethan and the IMF in capturing Solomon Lane. but again: who knows if old beefs are truly settled?

Mission: Impossible 7 is scheduled to hit theaters on July 23, 2021. Mission: Impossible 8 is slated for August 25, 2022.