It’s been almost two years since Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 hit cinemas.

Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt left us on both a literal and narrative cliffhanger in the spy’s battle against the powerful AI known as The Entity.

Since then, Mission Impossible 8 has been retitled Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in what is rumoured to be the last film in the franchise.

The first trailer landed at the end of last year showing off a new plane stunt and Ethan locating the sunken nuclear submarine which houses the Entity’s mainframe.

Now director Christopher McQuarrie, in a conversation with the latest issue of Empire magazine, has revealed that an early preview screening has taken place with some extreme reactions. Teasing the upcoming stunts in Mission Impossible 8, the filmmaker claimed that one sequence features “the most difficult thing we've ever done. Ever.” As for the first reactions from a private early showing of the movie, he didn’t hold back.

McQuarrie shared: “We had a small screening and someone said ‘I was suffocating throughout the entire sequence. I almost had a heat attack.’ And I thought, ‘I guess we did something right.’”

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is released in UK cinemas on May 21, 2025.