Tom Cruise is officially back for another improbable but ultimately accomplishable mission in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning. The eighth and potentially last installment of the beloved spy-thriller franchise brings back several iconic actors for another adventure, including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Hayley Atwell, and more. After an extensive production cycle, The Final Reckoning finally hits theaters in May of 2025.

Although Tom Cruise himself was once considered to play Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man, many of his Mission: Impossible costars have actually starred in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From heroes to villains and everyone in between, MCU fans watching the Mission: Impossible films will certainly come across multiple familiar faces along the way.

10Ving Rhames Plays Luther Stickell and Charlie-27

Rhames Pops In and Out of Both Franchises

Ving Rhames is perhaps best known for his recurring role in the Mission: Impossible franchise as Luther Stickell. Luther is the first supporting character from the franchise to recur through multiple entries, eventually becoming an irreplaceable part of Ethan Hunt’s team. Luther sticks by Ethan’s side through thick and thin, lending his unparalleled hacking skills to the IMF team to help save the world on multiple occasions.

Ving Rhames is also known for playing Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction.

Rhames has a much smaller role in the MCU, appearing in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as Charlie-27, a member of Stakar Ogord’s Ravager team. Although Ogord and his crew return in Vol. 3, Charlie-27 doesn’t appear with them, leaving audiences to wonder what might have happened to him between movies. There is still room for Charlie-27 to appear again, though it isn’t clear which project makes the most sense for Rhames’s long-awaited return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

9Laurence Fishburne Plays Director Brassel and Bill Foster

Fishburne Plays One-and-Done Roles In Both Franchises

Laurence Fishburne was one of many IMF directors to appear in the Mission: Impossible movies, playing Theodore Brassel in Mission: Impossible III. Director Brassel is particularly hard on Ethan Hunt, who returns to field work after one of his recruits is kidnapped by the villainous Owen Davian. Although Hunt suspects that Brassel could be working with Davian, he eventually learns that the director is clean and finally finds common ground with him in the film’s ending. Unfortunately, Fishburne’s character disappears between movies, making Mission: Impossible III his first and last film in the franchise.

Laurence Fishburne is also known for playing Morpheus in The Matrix.

Over a decade after appearing in Mission: Impossible, Fishburne made his MCU debut as Bill Foster, a.k.a. Goliath, in Ant-Man and the Wasp. A former associate of Hank Pym’s, Foster eventually discovered Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost, a young girl whose molecular makeup had been completely destabilized in a lab accident. He helps her steal Pym’s technology in hopes of curing her condition before they both disappear into the unknown at the end of the film. While this marks Fishburne’s last MCU appearance, there are rumors that he will return in the 2025 film, Thunderbolts*.

8Jeremy Renner Plays Agent Brandt and Hawkeye

Renner Is a Skilled Secret Agent In Both Franchises

Jeremy Renner joins the Mission: Impossible franchise as Agent William Brandt in Ghost Protocol. Brandt is a former IMF field agent who accepted a desk job after a failed stint guarding Ethan and Julia Hunt. He eventually goes back into the field as the newest member of Ethan’s team, though he often clashes with his more bombastic counterpart. Originally introduced as a potential replacement for Tom Cruise should he decide to leave the Mission: Impossible franchise, Renner was last seen in Rogue Nation.

Jeremy Renner is also known for playing Mike McLusky in The Mayor of Kingstown.

Jeremy Renner is best known for playing Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. First introduced with a brief cameo in Thor, Hawkeye has been a fixture of the cinematic universe for over a decade, becoming a founding member of the Avengers and helping to usher in the next generation of superheroes. Barton last appeared in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, where he trained a young Kate Bishop to one day take his place as the next Hawkeye.

7Henry Cavill Plays August Walker/John Lark and Wolverine

Cavill Perfectly Plays a Villain and a Hero

Mission: Impossible — Fallout features one of Henry Cavill’s best roles as he plays the traitorous CIA agent August Walker. Walker is assigned to monitor Ethan Hunt and his team as they try to take down John Lark, a terrorist who leads the Apostles, a splinter group that broke off from Solomon Lane’s Syndicate when it imploded. It is eventually revealed that Walker is John Lark, leading to a climactic battle with Hunt atop a mountain. Hunt manages to kill Walker and prevent two nuclear bombs from exploding and contaminating the largest drinking water supply on the continent.

Henry Cavill is also known for playing Clark Kent/Superman in the DC Extended Universe.

Most fans associate Henry Cavill with the DC Extended Universe, but his departure from the imploded franchise has led many to call for his casting as a Marvel character. Deadpool & Wolverine paid homage to these fan castings by introducing an alternate-universe version of Wolverine played by Cavill himself. Nicknamed “the Cavillrine,” this Wolverine variant only appears for a few seconds in the film, but could always return for future multiverse events, including Avengers: Secret Wars.

6Vanessa Kirby Plays the White Widow and Susan Storm

Kirby Exchanges Her Villain Role for a Superhero In the MCU

Vanessa Kirby’s Alanna Mitsopolis, a.k.a. the White Widow, is the daughter of arms dealer Max from the original Mission: Impossible movie. Like her mother, Alanna poses as an upstanding citizen but deals powerful weapons on the black market. Ethan Hunt has had multiple run-ins with the White Widow over the years, including in the upcoming Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, where Kirby is designated to appear for a third time.

Vanessa Kirby is also known for playing Princess Margaret in The Crown.

Earlier in 2024, Vanessa Kirby was announced as part of Marvel Studios’ cast for the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Kirby will play Susan Storm-Richards, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman, in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Already confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Sue Storm and the rest of the Fantastic Four are sure to become permanent fixtures in the MCU moving forward.

5Angela Bassett Plays Erika Sloan and Queen Ramonda

Bassett Plays a Woman of Power In Both Franchises

Angela Basset plays Erika Sloan, the director of the CIA, in Mission: Impossible — Fallout. Taking over for Alec Baldwin’s Alan Hunley, who transferred to the IMF in the previous movie, Sloan is not nearly as tolerant of Ethan Hunt’s shenanigans as her predecessor had become. Sloan eventually comes to an understanding with Ethan, making it all the more exciting that she will return in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.

Angela Bassett is also known for playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got to Do With It.

Basset stars in the MCU as Ramonda, Queen of Wakanda and mother of T’Challa and Shuri. Ramonda is a strong and resilient character who rises to the occasion after her son’s death to rule her country and defend it from the many prying eyes that seek to take its vibranium resources for themselves. Ramonda is eventually killed in an attack by Namor and the Talokanil but leaves a lasting legacy for her daughter to carry on. Basset was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Wakanda Forever, marking the first time that an actor was nominated for such an award for their work in the MCU.

4Pom Klementieff Plays Paris and Mantis

Klementieff Plays Two Very Different Roles in Mission: Impossible and the MCU

Pom Klementieff made her Mission: Impossible debut in Dead Reckoning as the French assassin Paris, who works with Gabriel and the Entity. After confronting Ethan Hunt in a Venetian alleyway, Paris is shocked when the IMF agent spares her life. Predicting her betrayal thereafter, Gabriel stabs Paris, who in turn saves Ethan and Grace later in the film. Paris joins Ethan Hunt’s team in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, working against her former employer to stop the Entity once and for all.

Pom Klementieff is also known for playing Marianna in The Killer’s Game.

Klementieff is best known for her portrayal of Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. Introduced in Vol. 2, Mantis is an alien empath and Starlord’s half-sister who joins the team after realizing that her father, Ego, is a maniacal villain. Mantis was last seen at the end of Vol. 3, where she goes off on her own to discover who she is apart from the Guardians.

3Hayley Atwell Plays Grace and Agent Peggy Carter

Atwell Is Always a Highlight, No Matter What Franchise She’s In

Hayley Atwell is the latest leading lady to lend her talents to the Mission: Impossible franchise, appearing in Dead Reckoning and The Final Reckoning as Grace, a pickpocket who gets in over her head after stealing one-half of a mystery key that both the IMF and the Entity want to get their hands on. Ethan Hunt eventually recruits Grace to the Impossible Missions Force, forcing her to walk away from her life of crime and plunge into a world of international espionage and never-ending danger.

Hayley Atwell is also known for playing Elizabeth “Bess” Foster in The Duchess.

Atwell rose to prominence thanks to her role as Agent Peggy Carter in the MCU. First appearing in Captain America: The First Avenger, Carter has had a unique role in the franchise ever since, acting as a founding member of S.H.I.E.L.D. and appearing in flashback sequences in multiple films and series. Atwell even led the ABC original series Agent Carter, which ran for two seasons before being canceled. The actress has reprised her role as multiple alternate-universe versions of her character as well, including Captain Carter, a super soldier variant who appears in What If…? and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

2Rob Delaney Plays a U.S. Security Chief and Peter Wisdom

Delaney May Have a Bigger Role In Mission: Impossible 8

Many Mission: Impossible fans may have been surprised to see multiple familiar faces in an early Dead Reckoning scene depicting a meeting of high-profile U.S. security chiefs. Among those playing surprisingly small roles are Game of Thrones‘ Indira Varma, Top Gun: Maverick‘s Charles Parnell, and Rob Delaney. Delaney’s character is unnamed and only appears in one scene, but is expected to return in The Final Reckoning.

Rob Delaney is also known for playing Rob Norris in Catastrophe.

Delaney is best known for his supporting role as Peter Wisdom in Deadpool 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Peter is a regular man who joins X-Force as a way of expanding his horizons. Although he dies with the rest of the team on their first mission, Deadpool uses Cable’s time travel machine to save him, allowing him to return in the sequel. Deadpool & Wolverine reveals that every Deadpool has a Peter (and absolutely adores him).

1Katy O’Brian Plays Jentorra and a Mission: Impossible Mystery Character

O’Brian Makes a Mission: Impossible Debut in The Final Reckoning

Katy O’Brian is set to join the Mission: Impossible franchise in the upcoming eighth installment, The Final Reckoning. Currently, her character has yet to be revealed but given the actress’s long history of physical roles, it is likely that she will play another fighter, though whether she works against or for Ethan Hunt remains to be seen.

Katy O’Brian is also known for playing Elia Kane in The Mandalorian.

O’Brian appears in 2023’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Jentorra, a freedom fighter living in the Quantum Realm who leads her people in a rebellion against the villainous Kang the Conqueror. The film leaves Jentorra with a lot of work to do in rebuilding her world after Kang’s defeat, though it remains unclear whether or not the MCU will ever return to this storyline following Quantumania‘s subpar box office performance.