A presentation of Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning was made by Tom Cruise at CinemaCon on Thursday. At the event, Cruise honoured his friend and Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer who passed away two days ago.
The footage presented by the actor teased — as expected from the daring star known for upping the ante in every new entry in the franchise — a giant spectacle-driven entertainer boasting high-voltage stunts which involve flying biplanes, an aircraft carrier, and more.
The CinemaCon footage is expected to be shown to the general public soon via YouTube, in an extended trailer form, ahead of the film's worldwide release next month.
The Final Reckoning, which picks up from the events of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, sees Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt in pursuit of the solution to thwart the attempts by an artificial intelligence program called The Entity that threatens mankind's survival.
At the event, Cruise commended director and writer Christopher McQuarrie's remarkable efficiency, calling him the "hero" of the film that "put Skydance on the map." McQuarrie has been lately a trusted creative partner of Cruise on several non-Mission Impossible projects as well.
"Because of him we were able to deliver Top Gun: Maverick and two Mission Impossibles during pandemic shutdowns and two strikes. You're a modern-day Thalberg and an asset to every studio you serve," said the star.
McQuarrie expressed gratitude towards Cruise, with whom he also collaborated as a script contributor on films such as Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Valkyrie, The Mummy, and Edge of Tomorrow.
Describing Cruise as someone who pushed McQuarrie beyond what he thought himself capable of, the filmmaker half-joked, "Tom, I'm here because of your vision and trust and to place you in harm's way."
The Final Reckoning is most likely going to be the final instalment of the 29-year-old franchise that began in 1996 if the tone of Cruise's speech thanking all the filmmakers and creative collaborators who worked with him in the franchise so far is anything to go by.
