Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning!

Summary

• Ilsa Faust dies in Mission: Impossible 7, sacrificing herself to save Grace and raise the stakes of the new AI threat.
• The Entity needed Grace or Ilsa to die in order to manipulate Ethan's emotions and delay his decision-making.
• Ilsa's death has a significant impact on Ethan Hunt, pushing him to seek revenge on Gabriel and protect Grace, while grieving Ilsa's loss.

A major franchise character shockingly dies in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, and here is why it had to happen and what happens next. The seventh movie in the Mission: Impossible franchise features a returning cast headlined by Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt that includes Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), and Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames). They have been the four main characters for the movies over the last three installments under director Christopher McQuarrie. However, the new two-part movie story created reasons to believe that Mission: Impossible 7 would kill a significant character.

The lead-up to AI threat known only as The Entity. The AI and its followers pose a threat so great it presents another world-saving mission for Ethan Hunt. It quickly becomes apparent to the group that they all might not survive this mission, as Luther says "None of our lives can matter more than this mission." However, Mission: Impossible 7 kills a main character to prove that point and change the franchise.

Ilsa Faust Dies Saving Grace In Mission: Impossible 7

Mission: Impossible 7 kills Ilsa Faust in a shocking development, as she sacrifices herself to save Grace (Hayley Atwell). Rebecca Ferguson's MI6 agent character ed the franchise in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, the first entry directed by Christopher McQuarrie. She then returned as the main female lead and potential love interest for Ethan in Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Despite her status as one of the four main characters in the franchise, Ilsa Faust's death in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning comes at a critical point in the movie and the fight to stop The Entity and Gabriel (Esai Morales).

Ilsa Faust dies in Mission: Impossible 7 fighting Gabriel and saving Grace. The Entity hacks the IMF's communications and tricks Ethan so he is unable to come to Grace's rescue. However, Ilsa is close enough that she could save the lifetime criminal. Ilsa arrives just in time to become Gabriel's primary target, allowing a fight to break out that Gabriel professes he hoped would happen. The knife and sword fight concludes when Gabriel kills Ilsa Faust by stabbing her in the chest with one of his daggers. Ethan arrives shortly thereafter to learn his friend has died.

Why The Entity Needed Grace Or Ilsa Faust To Die

Ilsa Faust's death in Mission: Impossible 7 was one of two potential outcomes that The Entity outlined. The AI predicted that either Grace or Ilsa would die that night as part of the larger orchestrated plan to put the Key in Gabriel's possession by the next afternoon. Gabriel originally puts this decision in Ethan's hands before leaving Grace and Ilsa's fates up to Alanna Mitsopolis (Vanessa Kirby). It is only after they both escape the White Widow's grasp that Gabriel comes to confront both women. He is content to kill either, but Ilsa is who he hoped it would be.

The reason that Grace or Ilsa had to die in Mission: Impossible 7 is tied to The Entity's predicted behavior of Ethan Hunt. The AI wanted to kill someone associated with Ethan to make his anger overshadow his judgment. The Entity fears Ethan most of all because he is on a quest to destroy it, not control it. By killing either Grace or Ilsa, the AI's algorithms indicated that this would cause Ethan to act irrationally and with his heart instead of his head. This was presumably meant to delay Ethan's decision-making and allow Gabriel to escape with the Key.

Ilsa Faust's Death Shows The Stakes Of Mission: Impossible 7's Threat

Ilsa Faust dying in Mission: Impossible 7 is used to help establish the high stakes of the new AI threat. It is common in storytelling to have a villain kill a main character as a way of raising the threat level that they possess compared to villains of the past. Countless other franchises have employed a similar strategy to introduce massive foes, and now Mission: Impossible has done the same. By killing Ilsa Faust, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning makes it clear that no one is safe from The Entity and Gabriel.

The new villains are responsible for multiple deaths in Mission: Impossible 7, and the body count is only likely to rise in Mission: Impossible 8. Now that the franchise has established that The Entity and Gabriel are capable of killing a character as important as Ilsa Faust, every character's fate in the sequel is up for debate. The franchise has not typically killed off main characters, especially those part of Ethan's IMF team, so Ilsa's death brings a change to the status quo in a significant way. It might even lead to Ethan Hunt's death in Mission: Impossible 8.

Raising the stakes is exactly the reason Christopher McQuarrie gave when it came to defending killing Ilsa Faust. He told USA Today, "[It was] a really tough decision. But it was one we knew we had to make for the movie to have stakes and for the movie to remain ‘Mission.’" The director noted the expected strong reactions from viewers who would be upset to see Rebecca Ferguson's character exit the franchise. However, he also rationalized the decision by saying, "this is the reality of the world that's been created over seven movies."

How Mission: Impossible 7 Killing Ilsa Faust Impacts Ethan Hunt

Mission: Impossible 7 killing Ilsa Faust has a huge impact on the other characters, but how it affects Ethan Hunt specifically is bigger than the rest. The last two movies established a close relationship between Ilsa and Ethan and even hinted at potential romantic feelings between them. Ethan cares deeply about Ilsa and has always wanted to protect her, going so far as to help fake her death in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning's opening so she could walk away from the spy life. Ilsa's death after returning to help Ethan understandably leaves a big mark on him.

Ethan does not have proper time to grieve Ilsa's death in Mission: Impossible 7 before he is forced to work on a plan to stop The Entity and Gabriel from winning. This leaves him in a difficult spot emotionally where he wants nothing more than to get revenge on Gabriel for killing her, as well as their complicated past together, but must push those feelings aside for the greater good. It also reaffirms Ethan's ion to protect Grace, as he does not want a similar fate for her that would make Ilsa's sacrifice even worse.

Why Mission: Impossible 8 Can't Reverse Ilsa Faust's Death

Considering the spy nature of the franchise and the ability to use masks and other techniques to potentially reverse Ilsa Faust's Mission: Impossible 7 death in the sequel, there might be some hope from audiences that Rebecca Ferguson's character could return in Mission: Impossible 8. This would be a huge mistake for the franchise to make. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning included one Ilsa Faust death fakeout early on, so it would be a bit ridiculous if the sequel did it again. Doing so would establish a precedent for the franchise where any character could come back from the dead.

Tom Cruise considered reversing a major Mission: Impossible death for Mission: Impossible II but did not follow through on the idea.

Undoing Ilsa Faust's Mission: Impossible 7 death would also mean removing the emotional impact of the decision. None of the characters in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning act as though Ilsa might still be alive even when they are in private and very clearly mourn her loss. By reversing her death in Mission: Impossible 8, the seventh entry would become weaker in retrospect. While audiences could potentially see Rebecca Ferguson return in flashbacks, the best way for the franchise to move forward is by committing to Mission: Impossible 7 killing Ilsa Faust.

It should not come as a surprise that McQuarrie has been vocally against the idea that Mission: Impossible 8 could reverse Ilsa's death. Speaking to Empire, the director noted the "heroic" and "noble" sacrifice she made "is not in any way, shape, or form disposable." He firmly believes that Ilsa died for a good reason for the character and narrative. McQuarrie is smart enough to know the downside of retconning the major character death, even if it would appease a section of the fan base at the same time.

Ilsa Faust's Death Sets Up An Even Bigger Role For Grace In Mission: Impossible 8

One of the biggest implications of Ilsa Faust's death in Mission: Impossible 7 is that Grace should be one of the most prominent characters in Mission: Impossible 8's story. Hayley Atwell's character is now positioned to be the new female lead of the franchise opposite Tom Cruise and play an even bigger role. This is signaled by Grace taking her place in the spy world by working for Kittridge. Now that Ilsa Faust is out of the picture, Mission: Impossible 8 will have the ability to dedicate more time to fleshing out Atwell's mysterious Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning character.

Sources: USA Today, Empire