The marketing campaign for Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning has begun, and it heavily hints toward Tom Cruise's franchise ending with the eighth installment. Despite the franchise's upward trajectory and incredible overall quality with the recent films, debates about when the Mission: Impossible franchise could end have raged for years. That became an even bigger conversation when Mission: Impossible 7 & 8 were announced as back-to-back productions with a two-part narrative, with reports suggesting that Tom Cruise's days of playing Ethan Hunt could be limited. That positioned Mission: Impossible 8 as the final installment potentially.

The culminating possibilities that exist with Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning give Paramount a chance to really lean into the franchise conclusion angle with the film's marketing campaign. Now that the first Mission: Impossible 8 trailer has been released, how the studio plans to market the film to audiences has become clear. Whereas franchises like Star Wars and the MCU have marketed films as theatrical events that are the end to a saga, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is signaling that this will be the final installment for Tom Cruise's franchise - even if it's not.

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning's Title Hints The Franchise Ending

The confirmation of Mission: Impossible 8's title is the biggest sign yet that the franchise as we know it is ending. Paramount originally planned for the film to be called Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part Two, but the performance of Part One brought news that a title change was coming. The studio, Cruise, and director Christopher McQuarrie settled on Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. The connection to Dead Reckoning is clear still, but the decision to use "Final" instead of "Dead" again is notable.

It is surely the studio and filmmaker's desire to have audiences believe that Mission: Impossible 8 is the final entry in the franchise with this title choice. They could have chosen any word or phrasing that left the franchise's and Cruise's future a bit more open. Electing to go with The Final Reckoning is a clear signal to all potential viewers that this movie is the last, final, concluding, ultimate ending for the franchise. That feeling is apparent from the title alone without knowing anything about Mission: Impossible 8's story or seeing any footage.

Mission: Impossible 8's Teaser Trailer Plays Up The Final Installment Possibility

As if the title wasn't a big enough sign of the franchise's looming conclusion, Mission: Impossible 8's trailer takes it a step further. The epic teaser does not shy away from moments or dialogue that play up the idea that this is the final adventure for Cruise's Ethan Hunt. At the very end of the footage, Hunt says, "I need you to trust me, one last time," to someone off-camera. That's possibly an acknowledgment from Ethan that this is his last impossible mission.

There is a chance that the trailer is misleading viewers in some regard with this line. It could be directed toward whoever he's talking to being able to walk away after trusting him again or the last step in his plan to stop The Entity and Gabriel, but that's not the reason the trailer uses it. The Final Reckoning's trailer uses this line and others, like Kittridge saying, "Everything you were, everything you've done has come to this," to create a narrative that this is the end for Cruise, for Hunt, and possibly for the franchise overall.

The Final Reckoning Is The Last Confirmed Mission: Impossible Movie

For what it's worth, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is the last confirmed movie in the franchise at this moment. Paramount has never put the cart before the horse with this franchise and had sequels in development before the current installment is over, with The Final Reckoning being the lone exception ironically. There has been no official discussion of Mission: Impossible 9 happening or any spinoff movies that could continue the franchise after the eighth installment.

This does not mean that Mission: Impossible is definitively ending after The Final Reckoning. It simply means that neither Paramount nor Cruise have definitively said that another movie is coming. That falls in line with how the franchise has been handled in the past, but the future beyond those previous installments was always a bit more clear. The Final Reckoning's title and trailer are major hints that this could be the end if that is what the studio and Cruise decide is best for the franchise.

What Tom Cruise Has Said About Mission: Impossible's Future After Final Reckoning

Since the reports about Mission: Impossible 8 ending the franchise have been around for some time, there have been several opportunities for Cruise to address the franchise's future. One came around Dead Reckoning's release, where Cruise teased Mission: Impossible 9 as the franchise star shared his desire to keep playing Ethan Hunt for decades to come. He shared his praise for Harrison Ford's tenure as Indiana Jones and how he played the iconic adventurer into his 80s. With Cruise 20 years younger, he said, "I hope to keep making Mission: Impossible films until I’m his age."

Cruise would be understandably hesitant to walk away from a lucrative and beloved role for good

This is not a surprising sentiment for Cruise to have. He's been driven by franchises over most of his career, and Mission: Impossible remains his biggest and longest. He might have various other projects and franchises looming to replace Mission: Impossible if The Final Reckoning is the end, but Cruise would be understandably hesitant to walk away from a lucrative and beloved role for good. If he does plan to keep playing Ethan Hunt until he's Harrison Ford's age in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, he could do another trilogy or two before then.

Why The Final Reckoning Is Unlikely To Be The Last Mission: Impossible Movie

As much as Paramount and Cruise might want to market The Final Reckoning as the final installment of the franchise, that idea is ultimately difficult to believe for a number of reasons. What that would mean for Cruise's career is one of the biggest. He's the ultimate daredevil with stunts and wants to entertain audiences on the big screen at every chance he can. While the Mission: Impossible movies require a lot of time to make as a result, the quality of the finished product makes them worth it. It'd be a risk for Cruise to leave that behind.

Tom Crusie and Paramount do have Top Gun 3 in development

There's also the Paramount side of the Mission: Impossible franchise to consider. While Cruise is now an icon for the series, it is ultimately an IP for Paramount to mine and grow. The overall success of the franchise is undeniably tied to Cruise's involvement, but if he's ready to walk away, there is no reason to believe that Paramount will retire the Mission: Impossible franchise in its entirety. There are other characters who could lead new films or an entirely new cast could be brought in as part of a soft reboot.

Unless Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is another box office disappointment, audiences can count on seeing another movie in the franchise at some point - with or without Cruise. The fact that the eighth film is being marketed as the conclusion, though, should help negate that possibility. Whereas audiences may have been more willing to wait to see Dead Reckoning as a part one, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning should be a massive cinematic event with the narrative of it possibly ending the series and Cruise's tenure.