Mission: Impossible 7 Gets Title Changed on Paramount+
The Mission: Impossible film series is taking the first step in a new direction. On January 25, 2024, the latest installment in the franchise, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, will begin streaming on Paramount+, but it will have a slightly different title. According to Variety, the streaming service will drop the “Part One,” simply calling it Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. This is indicative of the title change for the next Mission: Impossible film, which was to be called Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two. The problem is that Dead Reckoning hugely underperformed at the box office, and audiences were underwhelmed with it, so Mission: Impossible 8 is going to distance itself from its immediate predecessor. Variety says that it’s still expected to continue the story, with many of the same characters returning, so the title change may be more cosmetic than anything else.
I can see the opening titles now: “That stupid AI thing died on the way back to its home planet.” At least, that’s what they should do, but it’s hard to see how Mission: Impossible 8 jettisons that poorly used plot element from Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. And that was the movie’s biggest problem; the AI they were all chasing got so ridiculous it actually became the main villain, with Esai Morales’ Gabriel a sort of religious acolyte of the computer program. It’s as stupid as it sounds, and it undercuts a great actor who could have been a memorable villain for Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt. The best way around this would be for the next one to wrap up this storyline in an extended opening sequence, then start a new adventure; it’s not perfect, but it’s what’s available to them. But no matter what, they have to bring Hayley Atwell back; she was by far the best thing about Dead Reckoning, and she needs to become a mainstay of the series for as long as it lasts.
