Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningis rapidly approaching, and that means its time to start watching or rewatching key installments of the franchise and Tom Cruise’s filmography to prepare. The eighth installment of the long-running action franchise hits theaters on August 14, 2025. Anticipation is sky-high to see how Cruise and director Christopher McQuarrie build onMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning’s endingand, potentially, wrap up the entire series and Ethan Hunt’s journey.
As is common whenever a major franchise gets a new installment, the excitement leading up to the release brings existing fans to rewatch previous installments. It also opens the door for newer viewers to check out entries they’ve missed or watch them all for the first time. That certainly applies to theMission: Impossiblemoviesahead ofThe Final Reckoning’s release. There are at least a few of the prior movies that are absolute must-see viewing options. Even some of Tom Cruise’s movies outside the franchise may be worth adding to a rewatch schedule.
Which Mission: Impossible Movies To Watch Before The Final Reckoning
Some Are More Important Than Others
There are a few different ways to approach aMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningrewatch.Watching all theMission: Impossiblemovies ahead ofThe Final Reckoningis the best option. That’s largely due to the wayThe Final Reckoningis being positioned as the end of the franchise. If that is the case, the culmination of Ethan Hunt’s story will certainly be more fulfilling with a complete understanding of his history.
I’ve been a fan of these movies for as long as I can remember, and I always welcome an excuse to watch them all again. But, I also understand that there may be some who don’t want to commit to watching seven films, potentially for the first time, just to be caught up forThe Final Reckoning. With that in mind, there are a few installments that are known to be more pressing for the story being told in the franchise’s potentially final chapter.
The marketing forMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoninghas put a heavier emphasis on three of the previous seven films in terms of their importance to the new movie. Those movies are the originalMission: Impossible,Mission: Impossible III, andMission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning. So if you’re in a time crunch,the first, third, and seventhMission: Impossiblemovies are the most important to see beforeThe Final Reckoning.
1996’sMission: Impossiblehas major connections toThe Final Reckoning, with Hunt’s break in at Langley and history with CIA analyst William Donloe among the most important.Mission: Impossible IIIappears to have a surprising relevancy to this next installment with the repeatedconnections to Rabbit’s Foot, the mysterious MacGuffin from the third entry. Lastly,Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoningholds a lot of importance forThe Final Reckoningsince it is the film that introduced the Entity. The eighth film is directly building on all ofDead Reckoning’s storylines.
All the Mission: Impossible movies are currently streaming on Paramount+
But again, the optimal decision is to watch all theMission: Impossiblemovies before this new film. There’s no telling what other surprise connections Cruise and McQuarrie could fit into the film. You may be able to understand most of the story by watching the three aforementioned films, but key context will certainly be missing if you skip four of the other films. Plus,McQuarrie has worked on the last four filmsin some capacity, so threads from each could factor intoThe Final Reckoning.
Options For When To Start Watching The Mission: Impossible Movies Before The Final Reckoning
A Few Different Options Exist
With potentially seven movies to watch beforeThe Final Reckoning,depending on which ones you choose to watch, it’s essential to determine the right time to start checking them out.It’s already too late to do a simplified rewatch schedule of tackling one installment per week unless you only choose to watchMission: Impossible,Mission: Impossible III, andDead Reckoning. If you’re only doing that, then you could wait until May 2nd and watch one the next two Fridays before seeingThe Final Reckoningin theaters over opening weekend.
If you’replanning to watch all sevenMission: Impossiblemovies ahead of time, as I am,then the best option is a two-film-per-weekschedule. you’re able to start by watchingMission: ImpossibleandMission: Impossible IIthe week of April 27-May 3,Mission: Impossible IIIandMission: Impossible - Ghost Protocolthe week of May 4-10,Mission: Impossible - Rogue NationandMission: Impossible - Falloutthe week of May 11-17, and then finish up withDead Reckoningsometime on May 19-21 before seeingThe Final Reckoningin theaters opening night or that weekend.
There’s also the rewatch options more akin to a trueMission: Impossiblemarathon, where you watch one movie per day before seeingThe Final Reckoning. If you plan on seeing the new film on opening night, May 22, and wantto do the one-per-day schedule, then you need to start the rewatch on May 16. If you are waiting until the proper opening weekend, then adjust back one day per each you’re waiting.
If you want to do a legitMission: Impossiblemarathon and watch all seven previous films back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back before going directly to aThe Final Reckoningshowing, then you’ll need to carve out 15 hours and 34 minutes of free time. That time commitment could be slightly trimmed by removing credits, since the franchise has zero post-credits scenes.
There are no confirmed plans for eachMission: Impossiblemovie to receive limited theatrical re-releases
The only way to do any of these rewatch options, currently, is at home. There are no confirmed plans for eachMission: Impossiblemovie to receive limited theatrical re-releases. So you’ll either need to own them all, have a Paramount+ subscription, or be willing to rent or buy them on digital to do any rewatch.
There Are Other Tom Cruise Movies That Are Worth Watching Before The Final Reckoning Too
A Few Additional Movies If There’s Time
Beyond just watching all theMission: Impossiblemovies, there’s also an argument to be made for some other Tom Cruise movies to be part of aThe Final Reckoningrewatch list. This is due to how the film continues his long-standing partnership with Christopher McQuarrie. The pair have worked on fiveMission: Impossiblemovies together, but they’ve also collaborated on five other films. Those includeValkyrie,Edge of Tomorrow,Jack Reacher,The Mummy, andTop Gun: Maverick.McQuarrie is a credited screenwriter on each, withJack Reacherbeing the first Tom Cruise movie that he directed.
While the duo have plans to continue working together even ifMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoningends the franchise, watching some of their other work helps bring some greater appreciation to this series. They’ve come a long way from doingJack Reacher, whileTop Gun: Maverickrivals the quality of the bestMission: Impossiblemovies have ever been. Tom Cruise may still make more action movies afterMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, but it’s still fun to look back at some of his other modern hits and failures in the genre.
