Ethan Hunt’s next mission is currently in post-production, but the studio is unsure how and where to market the upcoming sequel.

Image: Paramount Pictures and Skydance© Paramount

The lead up to Mission: Impossible–Dead Reckoning (formerly Part One) was a bit of an ordeal, what with delays caused by the pandemic and all. Things have been equally fraught for the sequel, to the point that Paramount is both ready to get it out the door and also trying to figure out how to market it to audiences around the world…beyond the big Tom Cruise stunt, of course.

On Friday, the Hollywood Reporter revealed Cruise is hoping to get a sequel to his 1990 racing flop Days of Thunder off the ground. Included in that story was some information on where the eighth Mission movie is currently at: the film recently entered post-production and allegedly cost $400 million just for its production, which faced several production delays, including a pause due to last year’s Hollywood strikes. It’s also claimed Paramount wants to market the unnamed sequel as a send-off for Cruise’s long-running (and always running) hero, Ethan Hunt, in the hopes of drawing further audience interest. A few years ago, it was suggested Ethan was on his way to getting a last hurrah, but then Cruise said he’d like to keep doing these until he basically can’t—so you can imagine why he’d like to stick to that, or at least keep up the illusion for a while.

Paramount’s also hoping to bring Mission: Impossible 8 to Cannes next year ahead of its May 23, 2025 release. But as THR notes,: both Horizon: An American Saga and Indiana Jones & the Dial of Destiny were at the festival last year, and the reception hurt their respective box offices months later. (Or, for a non-Cannes example, look at Joker 2.) However, Paramount’s reportedly “optimistic” about the film; Cannes will run from May 13-May 24, so if the film’s great, it can only be boosted by festival reception. And if it’s a dud over there, stateside critics and audience reactions could drown out those critiques.

However things shake out, THR claims we’re due to get our first look at Mission: Impossible 8, new title and all, sometime in the next few weeks.