“Could end up in another movie”: Director explains decision to remove post-credits scene from Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was released globally on May 23, 2025. It is the eighth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, and Tom Cruise, who has played the character of Ethan Hunt for years, reprises his role.

In an interview with USA Today, the Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning director, Christopher McQuarrie, stated that the film was initially set to have a

''coda''

But it was cancelled due to a decision Tom Cruise made.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was supposed to have a post-credit scene

A coda, in the context of a film, is a post-credits scene. The film was supposed to have one, but when McQuarrie showed Tom Cruise the last ten minutes of the film, Cruise said that should be the ending. Which means, there was no longer a need for a post-credits scene and thus was not shot.

Christopher McQuarrie said to USA Today,

“I came to Tom and I said, Look, normally I would want you to see the whole movie before I showed this to you, but we're about to shoot this coda in a couple of days and just look at this bit. He said, ‘You know what, you can cancel Saturday's work because this is the end of the movie. This is it.’ ”

Thus, we won't know what this coda might have been. However, when asked further about the coda and what it was, McQuarrie said,

“I’m not going to say because it could end up in another movie."

If you are a Mission: Impossible fan, it would make sense if McQuarrie's words made you happy. While we know that Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is the installment in the franchise that Tom Cruise is starring in, McQuarrie's words sound hopeful. It could possibly mean there might be another Mission: Impossible filmin the future.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning ends with most of Ethan's team surviving and Ethan trapping the Entity and disappearing with it, to prevent it from harming anyone else. Thus, Ethan Hunt's return could be a possibility. While Tom Cruise's return seems uncertain, McQuarrie's statement holds weight, implying that another Mission: Impossible film might just be in the pipeline.

But for now, this is the end for the Mission: Impossible franchise. Talking about the ending of the film, Christopher McQuarrie said in the USA Today interview,

“What I love about the way it ends is the way it ends”

He continued

“We've always wanted to end a ‘Mission’ that way, but you can't make these movies do things they don't want to do. ‘Mission’ has a mind of its own.”

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is currently playing in theatres globally and will soon be available for streaming on Paramount+.

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