Besides the highly anticipated spectacle that Tom Cruise’s (maybe) final outing as Ethan Hunt was, one thing audiences didn’t expect with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning was his longtime ally in the field, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), making the ultimate sacrifice. Some may have undoubtedly shed a tear upon seeing Cruise’s co-star, who has starred in every film alongside him, bow out, but according to director Christopher McQuarrie, it was a decision he was fully on board with to help raise the stakes of this closing chapter.
“The story was about sacrifice. The sacrifice in the movie had no teeth without it, without some loss,” McQuarrie told Empire. “It was a sacrifice Ving leaned fully into. It was one he wanted to do, and one he was most moved by.” After spending more time in the franchise, McQuarrie, who initially joined to do rewrites for Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol before directing Rogue Nation, put in the effort to ensure that the IMF legend got more work to do alongside Cruise’s death-defying super spy. “Ving is such a phenomenal actor, such a giving actor, and the franchise wasn’t giving him those opportunities,” explained McQuarrie. “I said, ‘We’ve got to get him out of the van and give him the more emotional stuff to play’. And he leaned into it. This was already forming in Fallout.”
It feels safe to say that Rhames’ exit in the final film certainly makes an impact, and even more so, given that he provides the closing speech to his old friend from the great beyond. All that’s left to wonder now is if this really is the end of the IMF team and their adventures. Hayley Atwell has doubts that anyone else could end up lighting the fuse besides Cruise, given that “it’s been his baby for 30 years.” But while speculation continues, he’ll be returning to his other billion-dollar franchise with Top Gun 3, which will no doubt spark tears of awesomeness (that’s a thing) whenever he takes to the skies again.
